SAO Eternal
by Scarlet Grizzly
Summary: AU Kirito doesn't realize after the 75th floor that Heathcliff is anything other than a normal player. Instead, the game continues as Kayaba intended. Another year passes, and almost 5,000 have died, but when the end is in sight, Kayaba reveals a secret that threatens to derail everything that the players have been working for.
1. Battoujutsu

**Disclaimer: I do not own Sword Art Online**

My name is Tanaka Niten, and I am seventeen years old. I tell myself this every day, just to keep remembering. It's been over two years since I logged into a game called Sword Art Online and couldn't log back out. Two years I've been fighting digital monsters and leveling up, just to stay alive and maybe get out of this death trap. Two years since Kayaba told everyone we can't leave until we beat the last floor and that we can really die in this world.

That really got to some people. Lots of players stay on the lower level floors, shopkeeping or just sitting around and hoping that the game will end. Others like me decided to fight, and keep moving forward, so that we could all get out of here. It's an uphill battle, but us front-liners are Aincrad's best hope of ending the game.

Right now, we're about to enter the 90th Floor Boss Battle. No one knows what it is, since the recon team didn't spot anything inside, and after the 75th floor, no one's taking any chances. There's almost a hundred players here, the most of any boss battle so far, and we're all waiting tensely for the leader of the Knights of the Blood to give the order.

Out of the corner of my eye, I watch a towering figure in scarlet armor stand and lift his sword. "Forward!" Heathcliff shouts, and we all rush through the doors into the dungeon, howling like wolves on the hunt.

I'm one of the first to enter into what appears to be a clearing in a thick forest after Heathcliff and the Black Swordsman. As soon as I step past the doorway, I check the ceiling for anything. Ever since the Skull Reaper, that's become standard practice, just in case the boss does try to jump down and squash a bunch of players. Usually, there's nothing there, but this time, I see what looks like a large ape with six limbs holding onto a thick tree branch. I'm not the only one.

Asuna, a sub-leader in the KoB, sees it too. "Naitama! Shoot it down!" I don't normally take orders from people, but for boss battles, where I work with others, I make an exception.

I nod and nock a flaming arrow to my bow. I take aim, draw back, and fire all in the space of two seconds. My aim is true, and the arrow sails upwards, striking the boss square in the center of its back, knocking it down from the branch.

The boss roars all the way down before smashing into the ground with a THUD. I feel a thrill of vicious satisfaction as an entire health bar empties. Now I can see its name: Hanuman the Ape Lord. It has five health bars, one of which is empty.

In the other world, my name is Tanaka Niten, but here, I am Naitama, the Lone Archer. There's no one in all of Aincrad as good as I am with a bow and arrow. I'm the only player in the game to max out the Archery skill, and I've made impossible shots to prove it. Few others have the patience to master shooting, and prefer to whack and bash with swords and maces.

Unfortunately, I am reminded of the reason why when the ape boss rears up and bounds towards me. Shooting is nearly useless when an enemy is right in your face. For the majority of players who like to get close to fight melee, a bow's only worth it when you can aim and fire near instantly, and no one can do that.

I dodge out of the way and swap my weapon to a sword, yelling "Switch!"

Kirito, the game's only Dual-Wielder, leaps forward with his black and green blades. He moves so fast that he literally becomes a wheel of fiery light, cutting into Hanuman and leaving red streaks all over its body. Jesus, with speed stats like that, it's a wonder he ever lost to Heathcliff.

Kirito falls back, calling for a switch. Heathcliff comes forward now, just as the Ape Lord brings three of it's clenched fists crashing down. The commander of the KoB catches them all on his massive shield, then drives forward in a straight stab.

By now, the boss's health is at half of it's health. Hanuman roars and beats its chest in defiance before retreating back a few steps. I grip my sword tighter. When a boss falls back, it's usually followed by a change in attack pattern. Since we don't know what might happen, the general strategy is to wait out the change and adapt accordingly.

Astonishingly, Hanuman changes in appearance. No boss has ever done that before. He shrinks in size a bit, and loses the extra two limbs, taking on a form like a monkey wearing a black robe. The boss's name has also changed to The Monkey King.

Hanuman shakes its head vigorously, and what appears to be thick black hairs rain down on the ground. As they land, the hairs shimmer and turn into demonic ape-like minions. Yup, definitely the Monkey King.

The primates from hell swarm the players, while Hanuman just stands there screeching. I quickly slash at one until it dies before falling back. The bow may be my favored weapon, but I'm no slouch with a sword either. Unfortunately, the Monkey King keeps spawning more minions as fast as they fall. At this rate, we may be overwhelmed.

I switch back to the bow now, and take out a specialized arrow. Calculating angles quickly, I raise the bow high and draw back the thick bowstring. "Everyone, get behind me!" I shout above the sounds of battle. Heathcliff looks over to me and understands.

"FALL BACK!" The leader of the KoB roars, and all the players follow him to behind me. The monkeys are in pursuit not far behind, so I have to time this right. I wait until what I figure is the best moment, then release.

My arrow arcs into the air, then explodes into a rain of smaller projectiles, smashing into the primates. More than half are absolutely decimated, and the rest of them take heavy damage. The Death Rain. Archery's most advanced technique.

A monkey that survived darts forward, claws outstretched and teeth bared. I have no time to react before it slams into me, knocking me down. I'd like to say I fought it off bravely, but instead, I nearly got clawed to shreds while screaming like my little sister. My health bar dipped into yellow before a katana slices the monkey in half. Its owner, a player with red hair and samurai armor helps me up.

I pick up the bow and start shooting at Hanuman. Most of the time, when a boss dies, its minions will disappear. The boss tries to dodge, but I still manage to hit it repeatedly. Once it's health is at one bar, it quits spawning minions. Hanuman pounds on the ground and a bamboo sapling shoots up. It rips the tree clear out of the ground and sprints forward.

The boss uses the bamboo shoot like a staff, sweeping players off their feet. It's not doing much damage, but Hanuman is going so fast now no one can hit him. Even Heathcliff takes a few blows. Only Kirito is fast enough to match the boss's speed, and he can't possibly do this forever.

I keep shooting arrows in hopes of trying to hit the damn monkey, but miss. Kirito's got it down to half a bar of health, but he's slowing down. A sweep of the bamboo staff knocks him aside, and the boss roars in triumph.

Seizing the opportunity, I hit the boss with arrows, driving its health down even further. One more hit should do it. Unfortunately, that's when I run out of arrows.

"Sh-!" I manage to say before the Monkey King rushes forward and knocks me back into a tree. My health is at red. Hanuman stands above me, bamboo staff raised high. I am about to die.

"HYAAAH!" The red-haired player from before jumps in from the side and stabs the Monkey King in the chest, dropping its HP to zero. Hanuman bursts into glowing polygons and I sigh in relief before slumping back to the ground.

"You alright?" The red-haired player hands me a health potion. I nod gratefully and down it all in one go.

"Thanks." I manage to say. My health bar is full now, but I still feel like I've been hit by a bus.

"So you're the bow user, huh?" The player asks. "Naitama, right? My name's Klein, guild leader of the Fuurinkazan." I've heard of the Fuurinkazan. They're a pretty powerful guild, but not very large.

"I'm not the only bow user, you know." I get up and dust myself off. "I'm just the first."

"How'd that happen? I thought there weren't supposed to be any ranged weapons in the game?"

"Last kill bonus on the 80th floor. After that, you could get them from killing elflings in Greenwood." Greenwood was the 83rd floor, a dark forest populated by monster elflings. They've got pointy ears like elves, and use bows, but the similarity ends there. The game history said that Aincrad used to have magic, as well as dwarves and elves, but that's all gone, and the elflings and their bows are all that's left. "Speaking of which, didn't you get the last kill bonus for the Monkey King?"

"Huh? Oh, right!" Klein swipes up with his hand, pulling out a holographic display. "Hm. The Bladestaff? Pretty cool, got good stats, and it's compatible with the katana skill!"

"Good job, Klein." Kirito comes up to us. "What'd you get?"

"This Bladestaff!" Klein equips the weapon, and shows it to us. It's the Monkey King's bamboo staff, a little over a meter in length.

"I don't get it. Where's the blade?" Kirito asks.

Klein rolls his eyes. "Right here, Kiri-no-ji." He grips the edge of the bamboo staff and draws it like a katana. As he does so however, a blaze of light ripples out from the blade as it slices through the air. Kirito jumps out of the way and the light hits a nearby tree, prompting the message _Immortal Object_.

"What the-?" Klein looks at the blade in shock. "That's not normal."

That's when I notice a red hexagon in the sky. The last time that came up was when this whole death game began, when Kayaba told us all that we were trapped here. As it did then, the sky turns red and blood pours from the sky before forming a hooded figure.

"Congratulations on clearing the 90th floor." Kayaba's voice hisses. "As you may know, there are certain abilities that are unique to a single player. Two of them have already been discovered, and the third has just been found. There are ten Unique Skills in total, and the remaining seven will all be revealed in the next nine floors. Only the strongest among you will be able to claim one. Once a Unique Skill has been given to a player, it is theirs to keep, and no one else can claim it."

The hooded figure disappears back into the sky, leaving everyone silent. A few moments later, Heathcliff comes over to where Klein, Kirito, and I are standing. "So what is your Unique Skill?"

Klein pulls up his skills list and scrolls through it. " _Battoujutsu._ Also known as the art of drawing the sword. Allows the player to switch freely between sword and staff styles. The signature move "Battoujutsu" is activated by drawing the blade and will unleash an attack that deals immense damage."

I whistle in appreciation. "Nice. Maybe with the other Unique Skills, we can get through the death game faster."

Heathcliff shakes his head. "No. I fear that this is possibly one of the worst things that could have happened at this point. Our strongest players will be distracted by the promise of a Unique Skill, and I shudder to think what might happen if a Player Killer gets their hands on one of those."

"I thought they were all stamped out, no?" I myself had taken part in the raid to destroy the most dangerous PK guild, Laughing Coffin, and no other guild was nearly as deadly as they were.

Kirito answered this time. "Only the guilds have been subdued. There may be some more deadly solo PKs out there for all we know. And PoH, the leader of Laughing Coffin, is still at large."

"Ah crap." Klein looks stricken. "I'm so sorry guys. This is all my fault. I should never have equipped this stupid thing!" He makes as if to throw it away but Heathcliff stops him.

"No, Klein. Kayaba would have revealed the existence of Unique Skills regardless of what you did. It would have been better for us all if he had not, but now that the cat is out of the bag, we may as well take advantage. Train in _Battoujutsu_ so we can advance further."


	2. The Magmanite

**Disclaimer: I do not own Sword Art Online**

My name is Tanaka Niten, and I am seventeen years old. I tell myself this every day, just to keep remembering. It's been over two years since I logged into a game called Sword Art Online and couldn't log back out. Two years I've been fighting digital monsters and leveling up, just to stay alive and maybe get out of this death trap. Two years since Kayaba told everyone we can't leave until we beat the last floor and that we can really die in this world.

* * *

Two weeks has passed since Klein discovered the third Unique Skill, _Battoujutsu_ , and as Heathcliff predicted, progress on the game has slowed significantly. All the best players are searching desperately for a Unique Skill of their own to claim, even though no one really knows how to get it. Kirito and Heathcliff aren't telling anyone how they got theirs, and Klein got his from the last kill bonus on a floor boss.

Me? I don't bother. Although there are other archery skill users in Aincrad, none are even close to my level, so it's as good as a Unique Skill. That being said, I need more arrows after that last battle, so I've been grinding in Greenwood.

"DIE, YOU UGLY LITTLE FAIRY!" I scream whilst hacking an elfling's head off with my sword. I've got plenty of arrows, but I'm trying to get more Death Rain arrows. I could craft it myself, but that would take so much longer.

The elfling bursts into pixels with a horrifying screech, and I pick up the item drop. No Death Rain arrow, but I do get some nice flammable ones.

"Aren't you supposed to be the Lone Archer?" A voice behind me calls. It's my old buddy Rogers. I actually know him from outside the game. Morita Ryoukaza and I went to the same school before all this started. Yeah, yeah, I may be called the Lone Archer, but that doesn't mean I don't have friends. I just choose not to be part of a guild or anything like that.

"What of it?" I reply, turning to face my friend. He's taller than I am, almost Agil's height, with short blond hair and blue eyes. As always, he's wearing blue armor. Don't know why he colors his avatar that way, but to each his own, I suppose.

"Well, if you are, you don't show it."

"Oh, what gave it away? The sword?" I've been told by many people that I'm far too sarcastic, but hey, who cares?

Rogers throws a rock at my head. He knows I can dodge it, and I do. "Look man, I'm actually not here to fool around."

"Neither am I. What do you want?"

Rogers looks around quickly to check that no one else is looking, and pulls me in close. "Naitama, you know how high my Defense Stat is, right?"

I nod. Rogers's Defense is the highest of anyone I know, possibly even the highest in the game. "What's your point?"

"Last week, I got a mission. I didn't talk to any NPC for it, or anything. It just showed up in my mission log, telling me to find samples of a metal called adamantine from every tenth floor. It also said that I'd maxed out my Defense Stat, and that's why I'd been given this mission. I think it might be for a Unique Skill."

"Gee Rogers, I didn't think you'd get caught up in the Unique Skill craze." I deadpan. "And, let me guess, you need my help with this?"

"Nah man, ya think?" Rogers looks rather annoyed. "But seriously, I do need your help. I've already started the mission, but I need a party of at least three people for the 60th floor. You're one of the only people I trust to keep a secret."

"And what's in it for me?" I grin. I'm only kidding, I'm not a mercenary. Besides, the drops we'll get from doing the mission together will be enough for me. So it's a surprise for me when I get a gift message from Rogers. I open it to find five familiar arrows, each of which is three times as thick around as a normal arrow.

"I know how much you like Death Rain arrows, so I got these for you. Even if you don't want to join me, thanks for hearing me out at least." Rogers smiles.

"Dude, you didn't have to." I am in awe. It must have taken forever to collect this many Death Rain arrows, and even longer if he crafted them. "Thanks. I'm in. One thing though. You said we needed a party of three. Who's the other guy?"

"I haven't actually thought about it." Rogers admitted. "I'm not sure who I can trust that's skilled enough to help us out."

"Hm." I ponder. "There's Klein, but he's probably got his hands full with his new Unique Skill." In the two weeks that followed that battle, I'd gone monster hunting with Klein, and we'd become friends. It's pretty clear that he's an all around decent guy. "Or Kirito, he can keep a secret." The Black Swordsman and I had met many times in the past and gotten along well enough. And even though he's no longer a soloer, he still does his own thing instead of sticking with his guild.

Rogers shakes head though. "I know Kirito can keep his mouth shut, but he's married to a sub-leader of the KoB. There's something about Heathcliff that I don't trust."

I sigh. Rogers is too stubborn to change his mind, so I'm not about to argue with him on this. "Fine. What about Khai?" Khai is my brother's best friend in the real world. We're still in contact, and fight on the front lines together.

Rogers nods in agreement. He knows Khai as well, and trusts my judgement. "Let's go find him."

Finding Khai isn't very easy. He doesn't respond to messages for days at a time. I can get his general location from my friends list, but after that, it's not easy. "He's on the 91st floor. He must be trying to clear it."

"So he's still on the front lines?" Rogers asks. "Let's go join him then."

We return to Avalon, the largest city on the 83rd floor, to teleport to the 91st floor. It takes us well over half an hour, but Khai hasn't left the floor yet, so I'm confident we'll find him.

"What the hell?" Rogers exclaims as soon as we arrive. I understand his surprise. Up until this point, Aincrad has mostly been temperate, with lots of plant life and moderate temperatures. Floor 91 however, is a full on desert. We're in Mos Eisen, the main settlement on the floor. Few buildings here are more than two stories in height, and like everything else in the terrain, all structures are a dusty sand color.

"First time, huh?" I comment as we step out of the Teleport Gate and onto the road out of Mos Eisen. For miles around us, endless dunes of sand stretch into the horizon, broken only by the occasional cactus. "Everyone reacts the same way when they first get here."

"Damn, it's hot." Rogers unequips his cape and helmet. "How long do you think it'll take to find Khai?"

"Not long." I reply. "He's probably at the front lines, and progress has been slow lately."

"Oh, right." Rogers has the decency to look sheepish. Even though he may actually be on the verge of gaining a Unique Skill, he's abandoned the front lines like most of the other clearers.

After about fifteen minutes of walking, we come to the entrance to a cave. "Last time I was here, we'd just managed to get to this dungeon." I explain to Rogers. "The clearers probably haven't gotten far."

"Hey, as long as I'm out of the heat, I'm good." Rogers is sweating really heavily now.

As I predicted, the front line hasn't moved very far. Just a few meters in, we find several players hacking away at giant beetles. I wave to one of them, a rather short guy with long black hair and bright green armor. "Hey, Khai!"

Khai stabs a long dagger into a beetle viciously and hurls a throwing pick into another one before turning to face us. "Naitama! Where've you been?"

"Been grinding for arrows. You been here the whole week?" I call him over

"All day, everyday. Let's go grab some lunch." And so, we began the trek back to Mos Eisen, much to Rogers's displeasure. We head to a restaurant that Khai has been to before, and are served some food I've never seen before, called kibbeh. It looks like a fried dough ball, but it's got triple-humped camel meat inside.

"So what brings you two out here?" Khai asks. "Thinking about joining the front lines again?"

"Actually, no." I point to Rogers. "He's got a mission that requires him to have a party of at least three, and we were wondering if you could help us out with it."

Khai considers for a moment, then shrugs. "Eh, it's not like I've got anything better to do. The front lines can do without me for a while. What do we need to do?"

"I'm supposed to find a piece of adamantine metal from every tenth floor. So far, I've gotten five, but I need you guys to go with me to Firecliff Mountain on the 60th Floor and fight the Magmanite."

Khai nearly chokes on his kibbeh. "The Magmanite?! You want to kill the Magmanite with just three people?! Rogers, five clearers died trying to fight that monster, and they were all at least level 80!"

I should've known there was a catch to this. "Rogers you moron! You didn't say anything about trying to kill the Magmanite!"

"Wait, just hear me out." Rogers holds up his hands in a sign of peace. "We're all level 95, and we don't have to kill the Magmanite. I just need you guys to distract it while I grab the adamantine, then we get the heck out of there. If we're really lucky, we might not even run into it."

"How long will it take?" Khai narrows his eyes.

"About five minutes, give or take." Rogers says. "It has to be mined with a diabone pick, and adamantine's durability is insanely high."

"It'll take longer if the Magmanite sees you and attacks." Khai's already done the math in his head. "I'll mine the metal. My Stealth stat is higher than either of yours, so I can sneak past the Magmanite more easily."

Rogers hesitates, then nods. "Sounds like a good plan."

But as always, easier said than done, especially when you're standing on the peak of an active volcano about to jump in. Rogers goes first, landing on a small rocky ledge inside the mouth of the volcano. Khai follows, and I bring up the rear. Firecliff Mountain has a maze of tunnels that twist through the volcano. Fortunately, they're mostly mapped out up to the Magmanite's lair.

"The adamantine should be inside the Magmanite's lair. Khai, you hide right outside while Naitama and I aggro the monster and kite it out. Once we're gone, you go in and mine the metal. After five minutes, teleport out, even if you haven't gotten the adamantine. We'll meet up at the Starting City."

"Let's go." I take the lead now. I've actually been down in these tunnels before, so the others follow me deeper into Firecliff Mountain. I recognize the surroundings and stop my friends. "We're here. The Magmanite's lair is through the tunnel on the left. We'll wait until you give the signal, Khai."

Khai nods, creeping over to the opening. He gives us the thumbs up and vanishes from sight. Rogers and I head through the tunnel, ready for a fight. I nock an arrow to my bow and take aim at the glowing crimson mass in the center of the large cavern we enter. Almost subconsciously, I release the bowstring, and the arrow finds its mark.

The Magmanite rises up with a roar of fury, a fiery pile of sludge three meters tall. Rogers and I make a run for it, dodging the blob of lava the Magmanite throws at us. We race through the caverns, occasionally stopping to make sure it's still following. I'll shoot my arrows at it, while Rogers will block any incoming lava bombs with his Kite Shield. Eventually, we manage to kite the Magmanite to the ledge we started at.

"How much longer?" I shout to Rogers over the Magmanite's screeching. "I don't think we can hold it off for much more!" The thing about the Magmanite is that, because it's a nonsolid entity, physical attacks do less than half as much damage as they normally would. So even though this monster has only three health bars, we've only managed to get it down to two and three quarters.

"Khai still needs another minute!" Rogers calls back. "Try getting around it, maybe we can lead it back down into a side tunnel!"

"We can't! The ledge is too narrow!" The Magmanite gives off an intense heat, so much so that even being within half a meter will start to drain your health. That, and you stand a greater chance of being hit by lava.

I'll cover us! GO!" Rogers charges forward, and I follow closely behind. A lava blast slams into his huge shield and nearly sends him flying, but I steady him and we make it past the Magmanite and into the tunnels. After a few seconds however, we realize that the monster hasn't been following us.

"Shit, do you think that it teleported back to its lair?" Rogers asks.

I shake my head. "No, we haven't gotten far away enough that it would do that. But then-" A moment later I remember how one of those five players died. "We messed up. RUN!" I start sprinting down the tunnel as fast as I can.

"What?!" Rogers stands there for a moment before he notices a wave of molten magma surging down the tunnel. "AAAAHHHH!"

See, if a player somehow gets lower in the tunnels than the Magmanite, it will flood them with lava. We manage to get back to the Magmanite's lair, but there's no other way out.

"We have to teleport out!" Rogers shouts.

I run over to the entrance to the lair. I can't see Khai, but I yell as loud as I can. "Abort the mission! The tunnels are flooding with lava! KHAI!"

Rogers is already gone, and I can see the lava approaching. I've got no choice left. I hold the Teleport Crystal above my head. "Teleport Starting City!" Blinding white light fills my vision and the next thing I know, I'm standing in the courtyard where this death game started.

Rogers sprints over to me. "Did you find him?"

I shake my head. "No, I couldn't see him." I open up my menu, my heart pounding. There's still a chance Khai could be alive. If he is, he'll show up in the party members list. But when I open the list however, there's no sign of his name. Only my own and Rogers's are listed.

I feel blindsided. I've known Khai for years, way before SAO. When the game started, and we couldn't log out, he'd looked after me, making sure I didn't get killed. He was one of the strongest players in the game. And now, he was dead.

"He might still be alive." Rogers interrupts my thoughts. "There might be a bug that caused him to quit the party unexpectedly. We should check the Monument of Life."

Numbly, I follow Rogers to the black stone that lists every player in SAO. Part of me wants to be angry at him, to blame him. It was his mission that brought us to Firecliff Mountain. But the rational side of me explains that Khai knew what he was getting into.

"Kotona... Khan... Khaleesi... Khai! Naitama, his name's not crossed out! He's still alive!" Rogers points excitedly at the name etched into the stone. Sure enough, Khai's name is intact, with no death date or cause listed next to it.

"Wow. Thanks for believing in me, you guys." Khai says from next to me. I do a double take, because he was not there a second ago. "Got the adamantine, by the way."

"But how?" I'm so confused now. "You didn't show up in the party members list. We really thought you died."

"Huh?" Rogers looks just as confused. "He's back on the list. Maybe it was a bug?"

"Oh, yeah..." Khai laughs. "It's been doing that lately, whenever I activate my Stealth. See?" He vanishes from sight, and his name also disappears from the list.

"Dude, that's not normal." Rogers shakes his head.


	3. The Patriot

**Disclaimer: I do not own Sword Art Online**

My name is Tanaka Niten, and I am seventeen years old. I tell myself this every day, just to keep remembering. It's been over two years since I logged into a game called Sword Art Online and couldn't log back out. Two years I've been fighting digital monsters and leveling up, just to stay alive and maybe get out of this death trap. Two years since Kayaba told everyone we can't leave until we beat the last floor and that we can really die in this world.

* * *

"Where the hell are you?" I grumble. Khai and I decided to keep going with Rogers on his mission. He's managed to collect eight pieces of adamantine, and we're currently looking for the last one on the 90th floor. Right now though, I've kinda lost track of Khai. He's using his Stealth ability to hide from the monsters we're trying to get around. Strangely enough, my Search ability can't find him, even though it should be more than high enough.

"Over here." Khai appears a few feet away. "Quit wasting time and use your search ability."

"It's not working! You don't show up!" I hiss.

"What?" Khai looks at me strangely. "Your Search stats should be high enough."

"Got it!" Rogers straightens up from where he was kneeling. "Alright, I've gotten the last bit, so let's get out of here."

"Hey, Rogers, how high's your Search stats?" I call over to him.

"Pretty good, but not as much as yours." He admits. "Why?"

"His Search ability isn't working on me." Khai rolls his eyes. "C'mon, we've got the last adamantine bit, what now?"

"We go to Vulcan's Forge, which is on the other side of Floor 90." Rogers reads his mission log. "There's an NPC I'm supposed to give the adamantine to, and that'll complete the mission."

"Sounds good." I nod, all thoughts about Khai's mysteriously good Stealth abilities gone. "Let's go finish this."

The three of us teleport to the central city, Corthenia. Floor 90, Olympia, is unique in that teleport crystals can only take you to Corthenia, which is at the lowest point of the floor. Everywhere else, you have to hike up steep hills to get there.

"There's a shortcut we can take to get to Vulcan's Forge." Khai says. "We'll have to cross the Acheron, but it'll cut the distance by half."

"Let's not risk it." Rogers shakes his head. "If we get splashed by water from the Acheron, we'll be paralyzed, easy prey for any monsters or PKs."

Khai opens his mouth to argue, but I interrupt. "I agree with Khai. We can be careful, and it's unlikely all three of us will end up paralyzed. Besides, the sooner we finish this mission, the sooner we can get back on the front lines."

Rogers reluctantly agrees, and we set off in the direction Khai pointed out. Before long, we've arrived on the banks of the Acheron River. The water is sluggish and dull grey, but occasionally a large bubble will pop, spraying liquid poison. Like Rogers mentioned, if the water of the Acheron River touches your flesh, you're paralyzed for up to an hour.

"We cross using that tree over there." Khai points out a large dead tree spanning the river. It doesn't look very stable, but it, like every other piece of the environment, is an Immortal Object, meaning it can't be damaged or moved.

Despite Rogers's concern however, we make it across the river without getting splashed once. It's what's on the other side that is more concerning. A monster that looks to be about Level 95 or so is waiting for us. It looks like a very large dog, which would be frightening enough by itself, but it's also got smoke spiraling out of its nostrils.

"A hellhound." Khai curses. "This'll be tough to beat."

"There's three of us, and one of it." Rogers grips his shield and draws his sword. The hellhound growls loudly.

Quickly, I nock an arrow to my bow and draw back. Picturing where the arrow will fly, I release the string, sending the arrow straight into the hellhound's eye. Sadly, this doesn't drain as much health as I'd hoped, and only makes the monster angry. Rogers and Khai leap down from the tree and onto the shore. The hellhound swipes angrily at them, but Rogers manages to catch the attack on his shield. Khai turns on his Stealth ability, and disappears. I can't see what he's doing, but judging by the hellhound's health dropping, it's working.

Suddenly, I have an idea. Taking out an ordinary arrow, I stick the tip into the Acheron River. I have no clue if this'll work or not, but it's worth a shot. "Switch!" I yell to Rogers and Khai. They both jump back, Khai fading into view. I draw back the bowstring and release quickly, careful not to let the arrowhead touch my hand.

My aim is true, and the arrow connects solidly with the hellhound's body before it bursts into polygons. It's unusual for my arrows to break immediately, but maybe dipping it in Acheron water might've lowered this one's durability.

The hellhound screeches once, then slumps to the ground, unmoving. Next to its health bar, a yellow icon clearly indicates that it's been paralyzed. "It worked!" I cheer.

"What're we gonna do with it?" Rogers asks.

"Leave it." Khai starts walking towards a path. "Let's finish the quest."

"Hold on." I take out fifteen arrows made of ironwood and carefully dip each one into the Acheron. Paralysis arrows might come in handy later.

After another half hour of hiking, we finally arrive at Etna Mountain. Like Firecliff Mountain, it's a volcano, but Rogers leads us to a cave at the base. Just inside is a massive forge, with a rather ugly looking NPC named Vulcan, who happens to be twice the size of a player. Rogers approaches the NPC and hands over the adamantine. Vulcan takes the metal and drops it onto a giant anvil. He gets a hammer and starts pounding away.

Now, I've watched blacksmiths forge weapons before, and the process usually takes up to ten taps of the hammer. Vulcan's already exceeded thirty, and he doesn't show any signs of stopping.

"I hope this wasn't all for nothing." I mutter to Khai. Rogers is standing by the anvil patiently, and I call him over. "Do you know what he's making?"

"No idea. The mission log didn't specify what I'd get, just that I'd find it useful."

By now, I've lost count of how many times Vulcan's hit the metal. It's glowing pretty brightly though, and I can tell that it's flattened out. More tapping. The metal is practically blinding. More tapping. I can barely see Vulcan through the glowing light. There's a pause, and then a final tap, almost as if in afterthought. The light fades and Vulcan drops a round shield on the ground in front of Rogers. It's red, with a white star in the center.

Rogers picks up the shield and checks its stats. "The Patriot's Shield. That's weird, it's got both attack and defense stats, and they're really high." Weapons in SAO usually have attack stats, which is how much damage it deals with each hit. Defensive equipment like shields or armor have defense stats, which is how much damage is absorbed per hit.

"If it has both attack and damage, then it might work as a weapon." Khai muses. "Check its status."

"Class 5 defense equip, Class 4 melee mid-range attack equip." Rogers continues appraising the strange shield. "Durability infinite?!"

"WHAT?!" Khai and I rush over to look at the holographic display. Sure enough, in the Durability count is the symbol for infinity.

"Does that mean this shield is... unbreakable?" I've never heard of anything like this. Everything in the game has a limited durability. From food to weapons to armor, nothing in the game lasts forever.

"What does it mean by mid-range?" Khai wonders out loud.

"I wonder." Rogers looks at the Patriot's Shield for a moment, then throws it like a frisbee at the wall of the forge. The shield makes a humming noise as it slices through the air, and bounces off the wall with a metallic ringing noise, prompting the usual _Immortal Object_. Oddly, it whizzes right back to Rogers's hand. "Huh. The durability hasn't changed."

"Can I try?" I ask. Rogers hands me the shield, and I'm surprised by its lack of weight. It's far lighter than I expected it to be. I copy Rogers's movement, throwing the shield at the wall. But when I do it, there's no humming noise, and the shield clatters to the ground when it hits the wall. The same thing happens when Khai tries.

"Maybe it was a fluke?" Rogers tries again, and once again the shield hums through the air, rebounding off the wall and into his waiting hand.

"Check your skill list." I tell him. Khai looks at me strangely as Rogers does so.

"You don't think-" He whispers before he is interrupted.

"Hey, check it out!" Rogers shows us the holographic menu in front of him. At the very bottom of the list is a skill I've never seen before, one I know will not appear for anyone but Rogers: _Unbreaking Shield._

 **A/N: A little background info about Rogers. He used to be leader of a guild called the Abenjazu, which was dissolved after he had a disagreement with his sub-leader, Stark. This probably won't be very important, but just an interesting tidbit.**


	4. Floor 94

**Disclaimer: I do not own Sword Art Online**

My name is Tanaka Niten, and I am seventeen years old. I tell myself this every day, just to keep remembering. It's been over two years since I logged into a game called Sword Art Online and couldn't log back out. Two years I've been fighting digital monsters and leveling up, just to stay alive and maybe get out of this death trap. Two years since Kayaba told everyone we can't leave until we beat the last floor and that we can really die in this world.

* * *

My arrow slams into the monster between its eyes and it shatters into polygons of light. My XP goes up imperceptibly, and I nock another arrow, taking aim.

Rogers' shield whirls past me, rebounding off several monsters that were sneaking up on me before returning to its owner. I nod my thanks to my friend and take out another monster that was about to attack Klein.

It's not a critical hit, but Klein draws his Bladestaff, activating _Battoujutsu._ The familiar white wave of light slices through the beast and several more behind it, destroying them all.

Kirito leaps forward into a group of monsters surrounding Asuna. His two blades disappear into wheels of fiery light that cut through the enemy as though they were made of paper. Within seconds, he's dispatched them all. Asuna doesn't look too happy about it; she's yelling at Kirito for hogging all the XP.

Nearby, Heathcliff moves seamlessly from defense to attack in blurs of white and red. The leader of the Knights of the Blood is an unstoppable force, smashing monsters left and right with his massive tower shield and cutting them down with his sword.

As always, I'm hanging back from higher ground, picking off the monsters that try to attack my fellow players from behind. Watching some of my fellow clearers, I can't help but feel as though I am in the presence of demigods, soldiers for humanity that are beyond mere mortals, unleashing devastating power upon the digital evils that Kayaba created. Thank God they're on our side; if the Unique Skills had been discovered by a Player Killer, we would have been doomed.

From a logical standpoint however, it's unlikely that anyone but a Clearer would discover a Unique Skill. Those of us who fight on the front lines are the strongest players in the game, constantly raising our stats through combat and experience. No single Player Killer could possibly hope to defeat a Clearer; we are superior in every way, and I say this with absolute honesty.

It is well into the third year of the game. Months have passed since Rogers discovered the _Unbreaking Shield_. Since then, even more Unique Skills have been found.

000

Several monsters seemingly drop dead, bursting into polygons for no reason. I know better, and following the path of destruction with my eye, I see a player with green armor and long black hair fade into view out of nowhere.

Not long after Vulcan's Forge, Khai and I decided to experiment with his Stealth ability, testing its limits. What we discovered was that my friend was capable of true invisibility, disappearing from the game entirely save for his name on the Monument of Life. To the untrained observer, it would seem that Khai had died, since his name vanished from party lists, friend lists, and other indicators that a player might be alive.

But the truth was far more incredible. Khai had mastered the hide ability to the point that he became the fifth player to gain a Unique Skill: _Darkness Blade_. When other players use Stealth, some form of their presence remains, whether it be a faint outline of their person or noise, however muffled it may be. With my friend however, there is no remaining trace that he exists. Along with this ability, Khai also became capable of creating clouds of black smoke that block out all light and prevent anyone besides him from being able to navigate the area for a certain time.

000

Tiny pinwheels of light whiz across the battlefield, finding their marks in the bodies of monsters. If one were to trace their flight paths back, the projectiles all originate from a short girl with a loose ponytail. Her name is Kotona, and she is a ranged weapon user like me.

Unlike me however, Kotona is a Unique Skill user, having discovered _Shurikenjutsu_ , the sixth of ten. It wasn't an easy process. Like Rogers, she had to undertake a difficult mission to gain the throwing stars that are nearly impossible to dodge. If my arrows have one disadvantage, it is that they are easy to see, and can be dodged or even caught if the target is fast enough.

Kotona maxed out the accuracy stat, and was given a mission to enter a special dungeon on floor 88, where she had to survive a whole night fighting shadowy ninjas with only throwing picks. She nearly died during the fight, but she held out until dawn, and was rewarded with shuriken, a weapon no other player could hope to use.

000

Tendrils of power fill the air, and I feel my hair stand on end. Light flashes and sound booms as lightning cracks through the ranks of monsters. Such is the power of the _Infinite Spear,_ the seventh Unique Skill.

It's user, Jaina, had perhaps the most difficult task of all. She accepted a mission from an NPC woman to rescue her child from a dungeon on Olympia called Hades. The baby's cries constantly drew monsters to her, but Jaina survived the attacks, protecting the baby the whole while. When she returned to the NPC, the baby's father, Jupiter, rewarded her with the Jupiter Bolt, the source of Jaina's power.

Jaina was given an electric spear, which would always return to her and could call down lightning to strike the enemy. No other weapon like it exists in all of Aincrad, and the trials that she had to endure to gain it speak volumes of her ability as a clearer and a player.

000

In the center of the simulated violence, I can see an unusual sight: a girl fighting using only her hands and feet, no weapons on her person. That girl's name is Alina, and she is arguably the most dangerous player in the game. Take Kirito's blades away from him and he is no longer the Black Swordsman. Take away my Windrazor Longbow and I am no longer the Lone Archer. Any player is helpless without their weapon. Any player but Alina that is. She alone can use her very body to defeat enemies, courtesy of her Unique Skill, _Blazing Fists._

Of course, Alina is not the only player to use the extra skill Martial Arts, but she is the only one to master it to its highest capacity. In the real world, it would be the equivalent to holding ninth-dan black belts in multiple fighting disciplines. No other player can hope to match her skill, and she is actually faster without a weapon, which is why she fights with none.

To fight Alina is to combat a force of nature. Her speed can rival that of Kirito, and even with a shorter range of attack she might be able to beat him. Now that would be a fight worth seeing, much like Heathcliff's duel with Kirito. Sadly, we have no time for such frivolities when we are trying to end the game before our real bodies fall apart.

000

But not all Unique Skill Users are fighters. Next to me is a player with foppishly long golden hair and white armor. His name is Urian, and he is blessed with the ninth Unique Skill: _Extra Sensory._

Urian can see things no one else can. To be more specific, he has a minimap in the corner of his vision, on the other side of his health display. The minimap displays his immediate surroundings as well as any enemies, allies, traps, or loot. Urian advanced his Search ability to the point that he can see through walls and around corners. Nothing gets past him, making him an invaluable strategist, watching over the other clearers from above and directing their movements.

Make no mistake however, I do not like Urian. He is by far the most cowardly Clearer I have ever met, so his Unique Skill is well suited for him, giving him the excuse he needs to hang back out of danger. His _Extra Sensory_ is not perfect either; Urian still cannot detect Khai even with all his abilities.

000

"The big one is coming." Urian drawls, tossing his blond locks back.

"Get back!" I roar to the Clearers far below me. They hurry back into a rough approximation of a line resembling a rudimentary shield formation. The remaining monsters we've been fighting scatter as a tiny figure in a bloodstained white dress with black hair covering her face steps onto the battlefield. I take aim at the ghost girl and fire at the same instant Kotona throws a shuriken at her..

Just as my arrow and the throwing star are about to hit the girl, she _moves_. Faster than the eye can follow, she speeds toward the Clearers. Urian yells at them to hold the line, but she strikes Klein with such force that he is sent flying.

A name tag shimmers into existence above the girl: Yurei. She's got five health bars. I catch a glimpse of her face under the hair and it's terrifyingly blank. I don't mean that her expression is blank, I mean that she has no face, just smooth skin. Four black tentacles burst from her back and nearly impale Klein, Kirito coming in at the last second to deflect them.

Alina jumps in, moving fast as sound. Her fists begin glowing red, and her limbs disappear into abstract shapes, tearing into Yurei mercilessly. I can only catch glimpses here and there, but Alina's rapid fire blows are doing enough damage, accompanied by Kirito's slashes and slicing.

"Switch!" I clearly hear Jaina shout. Alina and Kirito get out of the way in time. The _Infinite Spear_ and _Battoujutsu_ hit Yurei at the same time, dealing massive amounts of damage. Of the five health bars, only three are still filled.

Rogers throws his shield at Yurei, knocking her back a few steps. Before his shield can return to him however, the ghost girl attacks. Rogers loses half his health in an instant to her slashing claws before he leaps back out of the way. If he'd been any slower, he'd be dead.

"Rogers!" I shout, firing arrows at Yurei. She knocks them out of the air and looks toward me.

"Great, now we're gonna die." Urian complains. "Good job, Naitama."

Yurei leaps impossibly high, arcing through the air towards me and Urian. Fortunately, she can't dodge, so I get out an Acheron arrow.

"Have you got a plan?" Urian sneers.

"Shut your face." I growl and let the arrow fly. It finds its mark and Yurei falls back to the ground, paralyzed.

"She's paralyzed!" I shout. "Switch!"

Heathcliff jumps forward, stabbing downward with his shield and sword. He manages to get a few good hits in before Yurei overcomes the paralysis. Stronger monsters like bosses are only temporarily paralyzed. She stabs through Heathcliff with one of her tentacles. The other three rear back to finish him off but suddenly they're sliced clean through, falling away. Yurei slashes at an unseen attacker, but Khai is too quick. He cuts off the last tentacle and pushes Heathcliff back. As soon as he's clear, Yurei disappears into a cloud of black smoke.

"Switch!" Khai shouts, emerging from the black smoke cloud.

"Out of the way!" I bellow, and launch a Death Rain arrow. Unlike normal, I don't fire it high into the air but directly at my target. At the last second, it splits into the hundred smaller fragments, smashing into the cloud. When the smoke clears, Yurei has the tiniest sliver of health left. Asuna and Urian, who joined the rest of them earlier, attack now, finishing off the ghost girl.

Yurei shrieks horribly, and bursts into polygons. The Clearers cheer. We've just cleared the 94th floor, and with no player deaths either, since the Unique Skill users led the charge. I can't help but grin. Even though Kayaba intended to slow us down and tear us apart with the introduction of the Unique Skills, they've only made us stronger.

We're not infallible however: Klein, Rogers, and Heathcliff nearly died during this fight. For all their power, the boss's programmed speed was too much for any one of them. Plus, there are only nine of the Users. The last Unique Skill is still out there, waiting to be discovered, and it's a prize that is still drawing away some Clearers.

I climb down from the high ground and join the other Clearers. We're making plans to go celebrate the victory when suddenly a large number of players in black armor teleport into the dungeon. It's the Aincrad Liberation Force, or the Army as people call them. They've gotten smaller since Kibaou's rebellion, but at just under a thousand players, they're still the largest guild in the game. At their head is a short girl with light armor and brown pigtails. On her shoulder is a tiny blue dragon.

"Silica?" Kirito steps forward smiling. "How are you-"

"Naitama the Lone Archer." The girl, Silica, isn't happy. In fact, none of the Army players look very pleased. "You are under arrest for poisoning and attempted murder."


	5. Trial of the Lone Archer

**Disclaimer: I do not own Sword Art Online**

My name is Tanaka Niten, and I am seventeen years old. I tell myself this every day, just to keep remembering. It's been over two years since I logged into a game called Sword Art Online and couldn't log back out. Two years I've been fighting digital monsters and leveling up, just to stay alive and maybe get out of this death trap. Two years since Kayaba told everyone we can't leave until we beat the last floor and that we can really die in this world.

* * *

"What?" I take a step back. "Attempted murder of who?"

"Don't play any games, scumbag." One of the Army players, a big dude in spiky black armor, snarls as he draws his sword. "You know exactly who you tried to kill."

"Hold on." Heathcliff steps forward now, holding his hand over the pixellated wound in his abdomen. "Naitama may not be a member of my guild, but I can vouch for him. He's an honorable player, and isn't likely to attempt a PK."

"Thank you, Heathcliff, but I have my orders." Silica dismisses the commander with a wave of her hand and turns toward me. "Now, are you going to come quietly, or do we have to do this the hard way?"

"You're gonna have to tell me a little more before I go with you guys." I notice that I've got an arrow nocked to my bow, and put it back. "Who do you think I tried to kill, and when did this happen?"

"He's stalling for time, we should just take him!" The same Army guy from before shouts. He jumps forward and pulls back his sword, as if he's about to strike. At the same time as when I reach for my own sword, he suddenly goes flying to the side. Khai shimmers into view, his blade at the ready and charged up.

"Don't try that again."

"Wallis!" Silica shouts. "Get back in line!"

Rogers grabs me by the shoulder and whispers in my ear. "Alright, here's the plan. Khai's gonna use Obscure, and you teleport out of here. We'll keep them busy while you get to Granzam."

"But that'll make me look guilty." I argue. "Look, I'm not about to run away. It's not like they're gonna kill me."

"They're here to arrest you!" Rogers looks grim. "You know as well as I do that the Army will toss you into their dungeon and throw away the key!"

"Relax, I've got a plan." I assure Rogers. Truthfully, it's maybe a quarter of a plan and three quarters improvisation and bluffing, but I know there's been a mistake of some sort.

While Rogers and I have been talking, the Army players have been getting restless, and Kirito's arguing with Silica. Ten more seconds, and all this might blow up in our faces.

"-would never do something like that! He's a Clearer, same as me!" Kirito exclaims.

"Sorry, Kirito." I wave the Black Swordsman aside and face the small girl. "Okay, I'll come with you, but on one condition."

Silica frowns. "You're in no position to demand-"

"Actually, I am." I interrupt her. "I could've gotten away at any point before now, but I'm still here, aren't I? And if you try to take me by force, you're gonna have a fight on your hands. It won't look good if the Army started fighting with the Clearers, especially after Kibaou's Rebellion."

Silica grits her teeth in frustration. "What's your condition?"

"I get a trial." I talk quickly. "You can lock me up for a day, but then you have to give me a chance to defend myself, and let me know exactly what I'm being accused of."

"Is that all?" Silica looks relieved.

"No." Kirito answers, surprising both of us. "The trial has to be open to everyone, including the other Clearers."

"I don't think-"

"Thinker owes me his life." Kirito narrows his eyes. "Let him know I'm calling in a favor."

"Fine!" Silica huffs. "Can we get this over with?"

"I'm all yours." I nod to Kirito. "Thank you."

"We'll be at the trial." He's not smiling. That's probably not the best sign.

"Time to go." Silica points a Teleport Crystal at me, and everything goes white before I find myself in a dark prison cell. I've never thought about it before, but since walls are Immortal Objects, it isn't possible to install bars to make a prison cell, so the jail the Army uses must have been included when SAO was released. Kayaba must have been planning his death game for a long time.

* * *

The thing about jail in Sword Art Online is that you can't access your in-game menu, so no matter how much I swipe with my hand, the holographic display doesn't pop up. So I've been waiting in the dark for several hours I think, but it might actually have be twenty minutes.

I decide to go to sleep, but almost immediately I'm woken by a loud clanging. I turn over to look at the bars, and see Silica on the other side, her blue lizard on her shoulder.

"Wake up."

I smirk and stretch for a bit before walking over to the small girl. "You guys could put in a bed, you know. I've got a sensitive back, and sleeping on the floor can't be good for it."

"Boo hoo." Silica looks unimpressed. "You're in a virtual world, your body isn't affected by what happens here."

"Unless I die." I fire back. "Now, you want something from me?"

"I'm here to read you the case against you." Silica rolls her eyes.

I smile widely and sit on the floor. "I'm all ears."

"Is this all a joke to you?" When I don't reply, Silica continues. "Two days ago, the leader of the Aincrad Liberation Force was just outside the Entrance City shot with a poison arrow by an unseen archer. The arrow's poison had a paralysis effect, and Thinker was trapped. He says that another player tried to force him into a duel, but ran away when confronted by members of the guild."

"Thinker said he saw me?" I raise my eyebrows mockingly. I lean against the bars, pretending boredom, but my mind is racing.

No matter how good you are at Archery, it's impossible to hit a target outside of your visible range, which is the same for all players. So it's just not possible for whoever shot Thinker to be far away enough to be beyond his sight. At the same time however, most players who practice Archery are unable to hit targets at a very short range; that's a more advanced skill that only a handful of players bothered to develop, myself being one of them. Now, Khai may be the only player with true Stealth, but other players are capable of achieving a form of invisibility close to it. So if I'm right, this means that there were at least two players that attacked Thinker: one to shoot him with the poisoned arrow, and one to attempt to PK him.

"Are you even listening to me?" Silica demands, and I blink in surprise.

"What was that?"

"I said, I don't know why Thinker even agreed to give you a trial. We have enough evidence to prove that it was you."

I open my mouth to fire back a witty reply, but then Silica's words make me pause. "What evidence?"

Silica suddenly pales. "That-that's classified." She stands up abruptly. "Your trial is in an hour." With that, the little girl flounces off.

"Hey!" I shout. "Wait a minute, you can't just leave me without telling me how I've been framed!" At first, I thought this was a misunderstanding, but Silica's mentioning of evidence makes me suspect it's something more sinister. I've been framed for trying to kill Thinker, but why?

The next hour passes by quickly as my mind whirls. Who would frame me? I'm not the most popular player in the game, but I'm not going around making enemies either. The Clearers and other solo players respect me for the most part. In fact, I can't think of a single player currently in SAO that would want to pin a crime on me.

Suddenly, my cell door opens, and two heavily armored guards grab me by the arms. "Time for your trial."

* * *

"Naitama, the Lone Archer. You are accused of poisoning and attempted murder. How do you plead?" Yulier, the second-in-command of the Army, glares down at me from a raised dais. We're currently in a makeshift courtroom, which is packed with members of the Army, Clearers, and civilian players as well. Word of my trial has gotten around, I see.

"Not guilty." I scan the assembled players. Khai, Rogers, Klein, Kirito, Heathcliff, and the other Clearers are all sitting together on one side of the room. Even Urian's here. On the other side are all Army players, of whom I recognize only Silica.

"Present the evidence." Yulier bangs her gavel.

"The evidence, Your Honor: the poisonous arrow used by the defendant." A tall, skinny player with long black hair holds out an arrow with dark green fletching, of the kind that I usually use.

"Does the defendant have anything to say?" Yulier calls down.

"It certainly looks like one of my arrows." I frown. "But it's not impossible that another player could be using my design." A thought strikes me. "Hold on, is this the same exact arrow that Thinker was shot with?"

"The very same."

"It can't be my arrow then." I almost laugh in relief. "Your Honor, the only arrows I use that cause the Paralysis effect are ordinary arrows dipped in the Acheron River on Floor 90."

"What's your point?" Yulier doesn't look impressed.

"Dipping my arrows in the Acheron lowers their durability to the point that they shatter upon impact. So that arrow can't be one of mine, because it didn't break after it hit Thinker."

"So you didn't use your own arrow." Yulier sighs. "That doesn't mean you're not guilty."

I cross my arms. "Your Honor, when I have poison arrows that disappear once they hit their target, why would I use an arrow that can be used to identify me?"

"If I may, Your Honor." Heathcliff stands up from the side. "Naitama has proved many times over that he is committed to clearing the game and of good character. His mission is the same as Thinker's: to end the death game. There is no reason for Naitama to try to murder the leader of the game's largest guild and thus destabilize our mission."

"That doesn't prove anything!" Yulier screams, banging her gavel loudly. "So what if the bastard didn't use his own arrow?! So what if he's a Clearer?! Who knows why he did it, it's clear that he was the one who fired the arrow!" At Yulier's outburst, the entire courtroom dissolves into chaos. A lot of the Army players are looking at me murderously, and many of the Clearers have their weapons drawn. This isn't looking good. The room we're in isn't a safe zone, and if a fight breaks out, it'll be disastrous.

"Yulier, stop!" A new voice cuts through the uproar and silences everyone. "I know you're upset, and that you're worried about Thinker." I turn to see Kirito standing on his seat to address the judge. "But Naitama is not Kibaou. He has nothing to gain from eliminating Thinker. Moreover, this isn't justice. You've already decided that Naitama's guilty on a single piece of evidence, one that he's just disproved."

"Your Honor." I nod to Kirito and raise my voice now. "I am not the only player with the Archery Skill. Someone else could very well be skilled enough to shoot Thinker, but whoever it was, was either a member of the Army or associated with someone who is."

"Are you suggesting that there is a mole within our ranks." Yulier looks absolutely murderous right now, but I plow on.

"Yes, I am. We all know that Thinker's movements have been kept secret since Kibaou's Rebellion, yet somehow the assassin was able to shoot him. I doubt he or she was waiting at the Entrance City the whole time, which means someone on the inside had to have leaked his location."

Yulier opens her mouth to speak, but the guy who brought in the evidence begins to laugh.

"Ha! What do you know, the boy figured it out! You're a quick one, aren't you?" The player opens his menu and selects an item. A skull-shaped mask shimmers onto his face. "Still, you weren't fast enough."


	6. Endless Night

**Disclaimer: I do not own Sword Art Online**

My name is Tanaka Niten, and I am seventeen years old. I tell myself this every day, just to keep remembering. It's been over two years since I logged into a game called Sword Art Online and couldn't log back out. Two years I've been fighting digital monsters and leveling up, just to stay alive and maybe get out of this death trap. Two years since Kayaba told everyone we can't leave until we beat the last floor and that we can really die in this world.

* * *

"What is the meaning of this?!" Yulier bangs her gavel. "Order! I will have order!"

The man in the skull mask laughs loudly. "You know, Naitama, you've done more for me than I could ever have hoped for. Thank you." He moves so fast his hand blurs. A throwing pick whips toward Yulier's throat, only to be met by a shuriken. The two weapons clatter to the floor.

Kotona is on her feet, more shuriken ready. The other Clearers are standing as well, weapons drawn. The Army is a bit slower, with its members only just beginning to realize their second-in-command was almost assassinated.

"Stand down, PoH." Kirito's swords burn with colorful fury. "You can't beat us all."

"Hh." The masked player spits on the ground dispassionately. "Well, that's one less than I hoped for. NOW!"

At the back of the courtroom, the doors burst open, and a multitude of players rush in, weapons blazing. To everyone's horror, they begin cutting down everyone who has assembled for the trial, Army, Clearers, and noncombatants alike. Within seconds, over twenty players have been killed, bursting into polygons of light.

"Everyone, teleport out!" Heathcliff shouts desperately.

"Oh, your crystals won't work in here." PoH laughs. "After all, what's the point of a courtroom if the guilty and condemned can escape their fate?"

I've never faced PoH before, but his reputation precedes him. After all, he held control of the biggest and most dangerous gang of murderers in all of Aincrad. That alone speaks volumes for his strength, but now it becomes evident that he's no slouch in the brains department either. Somehow, unbeknownst to everyone, he's built a new guild of player killers, and managed to lure the game's strongest players into a single room we can't escape from.

"They're only in the courtroom!" Urian shouts. "If we can get out of here, we can all teleport out!"

"Jaina, Klein, clear a path!" Asuna orders as she parries blows on her rapier. "Don't be afraid to cut down the PKs if you have to!"

Lightning flashes and the _Battoujutsu_ carves a swathe through the players massed at the courtroom door, every one of them with a sinister orange indicator above their heads.

"NOW! BREAK THROUGH THEIR RANKS!" Heathcliff's voice booms as loud as the thunder from Jaina's Jupiter Bolt. The Clearers and Army members charge toward the gap in the PKs. I fire arrow after arrow at orange indicators, but it seems like for every one that falls, two more rise in its place.

"You can't escape the Endless Night forever!" PoH laughs harshly. "We will come, and free everyone from Aincrad!"

* * *

"We are trapped." Heathcliff sighs. The leaders of the Knights of the Blood, Unique Skill users, and many of the Clearers have managed to barricade themselves inside Granzam, the headquarters of the guild. "We cannot teleport out of here, and an army of Player Killers await us beyond those gates."

"So what do we do?" I ask. "It's not like they can get in here, right?"

"No." Heathcliff scowls. "But we do not have unlimited food supplies, and there are currently fifty more players here than Granzam normally holds. Worse, this 'Endless Night' attacked at the worst possible time, just before our supplies were due to be restocked."

"How long do we have?" Alina speaks, making me jump. She never talks unless she absolutely has to, which really drives home the point that we are in a lot of trouble.

"Less than a week." Heathcliff's shoulders slump. I've never seen the leader of the Clearers like this, looking defeated. "Five days at most, and then we starve or fight."

Things are looking bleak. The Endless Night won't be able to break down the walls, but they can sit out there forever, waiting for us to break. And we don't know how many of them there are. There could very well be hundreds, even a thousand players that PoH leads. And that's really the most terrifying thing, that there are so many players who want to murder their fellow human beings. Even my Death Rain arrows can't possibly beat this. Wait, a rain of death...

"I've got an idea." I hear my own voice cut through the quiet conversations in the room. "Heathcliff, is there anyone in the KoB that knows how to make poisons?"

"Yes, Enzo is capable of brewing a potion that deals damage." Heathcliff looks at me. "What are you suggesting, Naitama?"

"I'm going to make everyone masters of Archery." I announce. "In five days." The room fills with commotion as everyone realizes the implications of what I just said. Archery is my greatest skill, essentially putting me on par with the Unique Skill users because no one else can do what I do. And I have just offered to make that value worthless by giving it to everyone.

"You're going to shoot the PKs with poison arrows." Kirito looks impressed. "Do you think it'll work?" He asks in a low voice.

"Not really." I reply in the same tone. "If there are more PKs than the ones camped outside our doors, the arrows will only do so much. But someone had to boost the troops' morale, make everyone think we have a chance of getting out of this alive."

"You don't have to do this." Kirito puts his hand on my shoulder. "Your archery is special, it's as good as a Unique Skill. You don't have to give that up."

I snicker. I can't help it. The Black Swordsman's concern is touching, but it's rather misplaced. "Kirito, I can't take this back now, after I've told everyone I'd train them. And it's no choice really. Either we starve in here, or we go down fighting, and I for one would rather die with a weapon in my hand than with an empty stomach."

* * *

Five days have passed since that meeting. We've gotten in-game messages from Yulier and a few other guild leaders. They, like us, have been trapped in their own headquarters by this Endless Night. They are the lucky ones. Several major guilds such as the Kaiju Krakens and the Divine Dragons Alliance have been wiped out entirely. Rumors are circulating that the Endless Night have swept through the cleared floors and slaughtered every player.

Personally, I don't believe that Endless Night has the manpower to pull off that much killing. Of the six thousand players still remaining before the attack, only a little over a thousand were capable of combat, the rest serving as shopkeepers, blacksmiths, and other service providers. Of those, about four hundred were active Clearers, with the rest being players who for whatever reason didn't take part in fighting through the levels of Aincrad. Unless a lot more players were secretly high levels, the Endless Night can't possibly have more than four or five hundred members. Of course, that is more than enough to do some serious damage to the population of SAO. And in any case, they can't break into houses or anything, since walls and doors are Immortal Objects. So long as everyone stays inside, they'll be safe.

"Fire!" I shout. A hundred arrows sail through the air and into the targets set up for the new archers. Now, they could all master Archery given time, but as I've mentioned before, the skill is a very difficult one to master, and so many don't feel it's worth the effort. Fortunately, I know ways to maximize the experience needed to boost the stats and minimize the time needed to at least bring these Players' skill level to adequacy.

How Archery, and any ranged weapon in SAO, works is by probability. If you're a novice with the skill, any projectiles you use have only a ten percent chance of hitting the target or so, regardless of your aim or real life skill. It's a lot more difficult than just hacking and bashing like you would with a melee. As you increase your skill level, the statistic increases. Being a master of Archery, my probability of hitting whatever I aim at is ninety-nine point five percent. Fortunately, I don't have to train everyone to that level, just to above fifty percent, enough so they can hit what they aim at.

I survey the targets, a line of straw mannequins in a line. Most of them have at least three arrows stuck in them, some have more. Not a single arrow has missed.

"Good." Kirito remarks. I turn to look at him. Kirito's not the most talkative of people to begin with, but he's been even more quiet lately, often talking with Asuna for hours at a time. Yeah, they're a married couple alright.

"Think this'll be enough?"

"It'll have to be."

* * *

The attack began at midnight. We had an advantage over the Endless Night, being relatively well rested, while they had been waiting outside our gates for days. What's more, the walls of Granzam actually have ramparts we could station the archers on. It's almost as if Granzam was meant for withstanding a siege from a massive hostile force. It's almost as if Kayaba intended for this sort of situation to be a possibility. Unlikely as it is, the man is demented enough to trap ten thousand people in a virtual reality, so I wouldn't put it past him to initiate a Player War.

I force these thoughts out of my head. Right now, we have to get out of this alive, and that's going to take all our wits. I raise my fist high into the air, and the first wave of archers draw their bows.

There are currently one hundred and fifty six players inside Granzam. Seventy of them have been trained in Archery, and are standing on the ramparts with me. Enzo, one of the potion makers, has brewed a deadly cocktail that causes paralysis and a massive health drain. Every arrow is coated in it.

I bring my fist down swiftly. Thirty five arrows hiss through the air and find their marks within the ranks of the PKs below. As screams ring out from below, I raise my bow into the air as the second wave of archers take aim. Thirty five more arrows fall upon the Endless Night, as I release the Death Rain into it's most devastating trajectory.

The single arrow climbs through the night until it's almost lost to sight. At the apex of its flight, the arrow splits into a multitude of deadly splinters. Many of the cries of pain are cut ominously short. But more voices rise in their place, tinged with not fear or anguish but defiance and madness.

"Fire at will!" I shout, and the archers begin shooting at their own pace. I turn to Urian, who's hanging over the ramparts, watching the enemy intently. His eyes are glowing with an eerie golden light. He's watching the PKs.

"How many are left?" I ask.

"Maybe three quarters." He replies. "After your first volley, they got smart and started using each other as shields."

"What?" I draw in a quick breath. These PKs really make me sick. Do they really disregard life so much as to use each other as human shields?

"The poison will kill them soon enough." Urian continues. "Wait... They're retreating!"

"Hold fire!" I yell, and the arrows stop. "Heathcliff! Now!"

"ATTACK!" The leader of the KoB roars, his voice echoing through the night.

The gates of Granzam burst open, and the remaining eighty six players charge through them, led by the strongest people in all of SAO. They crash into the Endless Night like a tidal wave on the shore.

The archers and I follow after them. As soon as we are all out of Granzam, we take hold of our teleport crystals and head to our next destination: Black Iron Palace.


	7. The Player War

**Disclaimer: I do not own Sword Art Online**

My name is Tanaka Niten, and I am seventeen years old. I tell myself this every day, just to keep remembering. It's been over two years since I logged into a game called Sword Art Online and couldn't log back out. Two years I've been fighting digital monsters and leveling up, just to stay alive and maybe get out of this death trap. Two years since Kayaba told everyone we can't leave until we beat the last floor and that we can really die in this world.

* * *

The light fades, and one hundred and fifty-six players appear before the gates of Black Iron Palace, on the south side of the plaza where this death game began. Strange to think that just five days ago, I was being held prisoner here, as a criminal. Now, I'm here to rescue the players trapped inside.

Between us and the gates however, wait an army of PKs. Hundreds of orange player indicators hover in the air, seemingly as numerous as the stars in Aincrad's digital night sky. Yulier had warned us of the Endless Night camping outside of the Army's headquarters, but we hadn't anticipated this many.

The Player Killers begin attacking almost as soon as we arrive, as though they had been expecting us. The survivors of the skirmish at Granzam must have warned them that we were coming. The Endless Night close the gap far too quickly. The Clearers had hoped to thin their ranks a little with a volley of arrows or two, but it looks like that's not happening.

I dimly hear Heathcliff giving the order to charge, and I turn to face my company of archers. "They're too close. We won't be able to lay down cover fire without hitting our own." I pause, considering. "Barton, Ollie, Artemis, you're with me. The rest of you join the others. Move out!"

The three I've singled out are my fellow snipers. Barton and Ollie actually were quite advanced in the Archery skill before the siege of Granzam, and Artemis was just starting to learn before I began training her, making her the most proficient amongst the new archers.

"What's the plan, boss?" Barton grins. He and I go way back, we used to grind monsters for XP when the game first started. Barton was a member of Rogers's old guild, the Abenjazu, before it fell apart.

I point to the buildings arranged in a circle around the plaza. "We get to the high ground, and take out as many PKs as we can."

Ollie nods, and pulls on his green hood. "C'mon Artemis." The two sprint off to the western side of the plaza, and Barton and I head to the east.

* * *

The battle's been raging for almost twenty minutes now, with no end in sight. I'm firing arrows at every orange indicator I see, but so far it seems like I haven't made any dents in the ranks. Worse, we're down to just over a hundred and twenty Clearers left. Before the battle, we formed a huge party so that we could keep track of each others' health. It's helped somewhat, but since our medics are also fighting, they can't get to the injured in time.

A strike force of about twenty of the Army's strongest forces was deployed some time ago, led by Silica, but they're not making much of a difference. I saw Heathcliff go under a while ago, buried under a mass of PKs, but he's still alive. Kirito, Alina, and Rogers are carving a path through the Endless Night toward a player with a skull mask. They must be trying to cut off the head of the snake.

"Naita-" I hear Barton's shout get cut off, and whirl around. Another player with a skull mask is attacking him with what looks like a large meat cleaver. I switch to my sword and sprint toward my friend and the PK.

I'm too slow however, and Barton explodes into shards of light before my very eyes. "NO!" I scream. I waste no time and charge the PK. Close up, I recognize the heavy knife as Mate Chopper, PoH's signature weapon. This is the real leader of the Endless Night. Whoever's down in the plaza must be a decoy. I can't tell anyone though, I don't have the time to compose a message.

"You really are a pest, Naitama." PoH growls. His weapon has a shorter reach than mine, but he's quick enough to get in close to strike.

I'm constantly backing up to keep him at the range of my sword, Arbiter. PoH is mind numbingly fast, it's a struggle just to avoid his blade. There's no room for my usual sarcastic quip. For the first time, I find myself wishing I had bothered to learn how to use a shield in my off hand. I preferred to use a two-handed sword for the speed, but it came at a cost to my defense.

I move my blade to block PoH's, but to my surprise, Arbiter shatters into pixels, and Mate Chopper slams right into my rib cage. The pain's not as bad as it would have been in real life, but I still feel like my side's on fire. I can barely breathe, and in the corner of my vision, my health bar dips into red. I slump to the tiled rooftop. Dimly, I'm actually annoyed that my sword broke. I've had Arbiter for a long time, which is probably why the durability wore out.

PoH looms over me, Mate Chopper raised high. Strangely, I feel no fear, just tired resignation. I wonder if the outside world knows anything about what's going on in Aincrad, if they know about the Player War.

For the first time in years, I think about my own family. Do my parents know how much I've fought? Do they know what I've been doing to help everyone trapped in the game escape? And my sister, Aiko. She's just twelve, does she even remember me? Wait, no, that was before. Aiko must be fifteen now, the same age as I was when this madness started.

What about Kichiro, my older brother? He was a beta tester for the game, it was only because he got grounded for his bad grades that I got to play SAO on the day of the release. I remember, he was just about to log in when Mom checked his grades and began yelling at him. But for just a few seconds, he'd be the one in the death game. Would he have been a better Clearer than I was?

I'm so lost in thought I barely notice that PoH hasn't killed me yet. I dimly hear shouting, and I look over to see Silica of all people fighting PoH. Her tiny blue dragon is hovering over me and sparkling. Suddenly, my health is back into yellow.

Silica screams as PoH's blade cuts into her shoulder, and she drops her knife. PoH rears back, ready to chop the girl's head off. I don't know if the game mechanics can do that, but the leader of Endless Night looks ready to try.

I can't really explain what happened next. I had no weapon in my hand, my health was still low, and I barely knew Silica. She'd been the one to arrest me, for God's sake! But after seeing so much carnage in the plaza before me, watching Barton die before my eyes, I couldn't take any more death today. Something snapped, and I found myself with my fist stuck inside PoH's chest. There's a horrifying noise coming from somewhere, and it takes me a moment before I realize it's emanating from my own throat.

PoH chuckles, a grim deep noise that sends shivers down my back. "Looks like I got you in the end, Niten."

I look down to see Mate Chopper sticking out of my chest, just above my heart. My health bar is down in the red again, but it's not stopping. I'm gonna die, for real this time.

And worse, PoH's health is only in the orange. I couldn't even kill him.

As my health drains and empties, I turn to Silica. "R-r-run." I manage to choke out. For all the good it does, I might as well have told her to jump off the building, because she's in shock.

"What is this?!" PoH shouts suddenly. He pulls his blade from my chest and starts hacking at my body. Really? This seems excessive. "WHY WON'T YOU DIE?!" He roars in anger.

With a start, I realize that my health is actually regenerating. Every hit from Mate Chopper is putting a dent in it, but the bar is filling up faster than PoH can empty it. What the hell?

I don't know what's keeping me alive. By all rights I should be dead. But my health just keeps filling up, until it's filled up the meter. PoH actually takes a step back, and I think I see a glimmer of uncertainty in his eyes.

Time to end this. I snatch up Silica's knife, and stab the leader of Endless Night right in between the eyes. His health bar empties, and PoH dissolves into shards of light. It's over.

Remembering Silica, I turn to find the girl already standing, her health having been restored to half full by her dragon. "You okay?" I ask.

She nods. "How... how did you do that?"

I shrug. "I don't know. Maybe it's a bug in the game, and I'll die any second now."

Silica shudders as I open up my menu and send a message to all the Clearers who are left. "PoH is dead. I killed him myself."

* * *

"And you have no idea what caused the massive health regeneration?" Heathcliff leans forward.

"Nope." I shake my head.

After PoH was killed, the battle continued on for some time. A few PKs wouldn't stop, and had to be killed, but most of the Endless Night just surrendered after hearing that their leader was killed. By the end of what was coming to be known as the Player War, just ninety-eight of the Clearers were left alive. Aincrad was changed forever by the Player War. Entire guilds had been wiped out, and a good third of the main fighting force was killed. The total death count of the game is just about five thousand. Half of the people who logged into SAO three years ago are dead.

We still don't know what allowed me to escape the fate of so many others. Heathcliff, Silica, and I have gone over the fight with PoH so many times and we've still gotten nowhere.

"Maybe it is a bug in the game?"

"No." Heathcliff mutters, sounding frustrated. "That can't be it."

"Maybe it's a Unique Skill?" Silica pipes up. "That would explain why your health keeps regenerating even now."

"I don't think-" I'm cut off by Heathcliff's exclamation of agreement.

"That might be it! Naitama, check your menu!"

I know Heathcliff's not gonna take no for an answer, so I pull up the list of skills I've unlocked and start scrolling through them. "See, I told you..." My voice trails off as I reach the bottom and find something that wasn't there before. "Eternal Life?"

"What is it?" Heathcliff asks.

"Passive constant regeneration ability... Can transfer this healing ability to any other player in the near vicinity..." I read off the description. "Given to the player with high health and endurance stats, as well as a willingness to sacrifice themselves to save another. Unique Skill."

"The final Unique Skill has been discovered." Heathcliff smiles. "And it couldn't have gone to a better player."

* * *

 **A/N: Well... this is awkward... Sorry about that really long wait guys, I was kinda busy for a period of several months, what with school and all, and also I'm currently on a RWBY craze, some of you might have noticed that. I'm afraid that it'll probably be a while before the next chapter too. Finals are coming up, I have several other stories going, and life in general likes to throw frozen lemons at my head. Not to worry though, Naitama isn't going away anytime soon. His story is almost finished, with just three or four chapters left. Hopefully it'll be finished by the end of the year.**


	8. Betrayed

**Disclaimer: I do not own Sword Art Online**

My name is Tanaka Niten, and I am seventeen years old. I tell myself this every day, just to keep remembering. It's been over two years since I logged into a game called Sword Art Online and couldn't log back out. Two years I've been fighting digital monsters and leveling up, just to stay alive and maybe get out of this death trap. Two years since Kayaba told everyone we can't leave until we beat the last floor and that we can really die in this world.

* * *

It has only been two weeks since the Player War. Two weeks since the nightmare ended and hundreds of players died. And yet, we have never been stronger. It was just a little under three weeks since we defeated the last boss for Floor 94. But with all ten Unique Skills unlocked, we swept through the entirety of Floor 95 without a single casualty, and now we stand at the doors to the floor boss. The end is in sight. We can all taste it. We're so close to breaking out of this death game and going home.

"Is everyone ready?" Heathcliff's voice rumbles through the crowded hallway. Close to a hundred voices roar in unison, mine included. Following the Endless Night's rampage, the old system of guilds was pretty much shattered. I hate to give credit to the bastard, but PoH ended the infighting and rivalry that existed between the guilds. I guess almost dying really puts it into perspective. Now, we're all pretty much united under the leadership of Heathcliff.

"You all know the plan. Unique Skill users will lead, the rest of you follow when Urian gives the signal. The Unique Skill users will take on the boss individually, while Naitama transfers his healing ability to whoever is taking point. Switch as soon as your attack patterns end, so we can maximize the damage. Let's go!"

It's a strategy that we devised over time. During the fights to clear the 95th floor, the Unique Skill users came up with this method. Urian and I hang back while the other eight take point and attack, constantly switching as their attack sequences end. Urian directs everyone while I transfer my high regeneration to whoever is attacking at that moment. Let's hope it's enough to take down this boss.

The ten Unique Skill users rush through the doors as soon as they open, only to find an empty room. There is nothing save for a green cloud in the center of the room.

"What the hell?" Klein mutters as he cautiously walks toward the gaseous mass. Out of habit, or perhaps instinct, I transfer my regeneration to him. The Scarlet Samurai slashes at the cloud with Battoujutsu, and immediately a jet of green mist sprays into his face.

Several things happen at once. Klein staggers back, surprised, and his indicator turns purple. A paralysis indicator appears by his name tag as he falls to the floor. Five health bars and a name tag (Lethe) appear over the cloud, which remains motionless. Klein's health bar begins pulsing, meaning that he's taking damage, but it doesn't empty, thanks to my Unique Skill.

"Klein!" Kirito kneels beside Klein in alarm, but then immediately falls down beside him. The Black Swordsman's indicator turns the same purple as Klein's, and a paralysis indicator appears by his name as well.

"Everyone back away from them!" Heathcliff roars. "Whatever is affecting them, it can infect you!"

The remaining six Unique Skill users who have taken point back away in alarm. Klein and Kirito lie on the ground, motionless. The former is fine, and his paralysis even seems to be wearing off, but Kirito's health is rapidly draining.

"Klein!" I shout. "I'm going to transfer Eternal Life to Kirito!"

"Do it!" Klein's managed to stagger to his feet, and is using his Bladestaff to support himself.

Immediately, I concentrate, and Kirito's health, which was approaching yellow, begins to regenerate. To my horror however, Klein's begins to drop again. Without my healing, he'll die. Unfortunately, I can only give Eternal Life to one player at a time. Klein's health is deteriorating faster than Kirito's, maybe because he was first infected or perhaps because of lower regeneration stats. Either way, he's in trouble.

"Heathcliff!" I shout desperately. I don't know why. There's nothing he can do. "We're gonna lose one of them!"

Our leader opens his mouth to say something, but we never get to hear what exactly, for at that moment his sub-leader rushes forward. "Kirito!"

"Asuna, NO!" Kirito shouts desperately, but his wife doesn't listen, shoving aside Jaina and falling to her knees besides her husband.

As I watch in abject horror, Asuna's indicator turns purple as well, and the paralysis hits her as well. Her health begins to drain, though it seems slower than Klein's.

"Asuna, what have you done?!" Heathcliff roars as Kirito struggles to an upright position.

"Naitama, give her your Eternal Life!" Kirito screams.

"No." Heathcliff puts his hand on my shoulder. "Klein needs it more."

It's true. The Scarlet Samurai's health is turning a dark orange, almost at red. I transfer the Eternal Life to him, and breathe a sigh of relief as it returns to yellow within a minute. But it comes at a cost, as I am forced to watch Asuna's health deplete to half empty.

"Look!" Khai points suddenly, and we all gasp. The gas cloud Lethe's health is slowly draining. "I wonder..." To everyone's surprise, my friend walks forward toward Asuna and Kirito.

"Khai, what're you doing?!" Alina shouts.

"I have an idea!" he shouts back. "Watch the health bars!" Khai kneels next to Asuna and touches her hand. Immediately his indicator turns to that sickly shade of purple, and he falls as well.

"No!" I yell, but Rogers lets out a shout of elation.

"He's onto something! Look, their health is depleting slower!"

"And the boss's health is falling faster!"

The remaining seven of us all look at one another and nod in understanding, even cowardly Urian. We know what has to be done. Heathcliff walks to the players waiting for us to signal them, while the rest of us approach the infected. We link hands, and Kotona, at the end of the line, touches Klein. Immediately, a searing pain fills my body and I crash to the floor, paralyzed. My health is falling at an alarming rate, but not as quickly as Kirito's had when he was first infected.

"Players!" I hear Heathcliff shout. "I cannot promise that you will survive. But we face an enemy that can only be defeated with superior numbers and willingness to sacrifice for the greater good. Who among you is willing to lay down his life so that we may live?" Of course, this is every last one of the Clearers, who all flood into the room to lay hands on us.

Soon, the gas cloud is surrounded by players with purple indicators. Our sacrifices were not in vain however, as we watch the cloud's HP dwindle into nothing. Just as my own health begins to dip into red, Lethe bursts into pixels, and everyone's indicators return to green. Health regeneration returns to normal, and we all breathe a collective sigh of relief.

Oddly enough however, Heathcliff stands upright and begins clapping slowly. Even stranger, his health is already full once more. "Well done, comrades. Well done indeed. I am immensely proud that we have managed to come to this point together, but alas, this is where I leave you."

"What? Are you leaving the front lines?" I hear Rogers's voice. I try to lift my head, but suddenly I'm paralyzed again. What the hell? Lethe is dead, that effect should have worn off a long time ago.

"Yes, I am." Heathcliff bows his head. "I will be moving on without you, I'm afraid. It will be your job to catch up."

"What're you talking about?" A deep voice rings out. Agil, I think. "Why can't we move?"

"I put a paralysis effect on you all." Heathcliff's words chill me to the bone. He did this? "It pains me to confess this to you, my friends, but I have been keeping secrets from you."

"Why?" Asuna asks. "What secrets?"

"I am not," Heathcliff pauses. "One of you. I never was. All along, I was manipulating events, orchestrating everything from behind the scenes."

"What're you talking about, Heathcliff?" Kirito laughs, but it sounds forced. "Man, I think being on the front lines for so long finally made you crack, huh?"

"Heathcliff." Our leader smiles. "That was but one of my multiple names. Perhaps you know me better as Diavel?"

My heart seems to freeze in my chest as Heathcliff disappears behind a mass of pixels that fades to reveal a slightly shorter player with shoulder length blue hair and simple armor. Several voices cry out in surprise and horror, Kirito's among them.

"You know, Kirito, it's your fault I died." The blue-haired player smirks. "When I saw you fight Ilfang, I was sure that I had found the player who would lead his fellows through the hundred floors of Aincrad to defeat me. So I let this character pass on. But then you had to go and proclaim yourself a beater."

"No..." Kirito groans. "You... that's not-"

"Possible?" Diavel, or Heathcliff, or whoever it is sneers. "To God, nothing is impossible." He pixellates again, but this time, the blurriness fades to reveal a figure that haunts my nightmares sometimes.

"Of course, here I am both God and the Devil, it seems." PoH laughs.

"PoH!" I shout. "Wait, so that Player War... That was all a setup?!"

"Certainly." PoH replies almost cheerfully, and I bellow in rage.

"You bastard! People died for your games?! My friends died for your entertainment?!"

"I suppose you could say that." PoH dusts off his shoulder.

"Who do you think you are?!"

PoH laughs loudly at this. "Who am I? Do you really want to know?"

Once again, he disappears behind a mass of pixels, but when they fade, the player standing there has no armor or even weapons. He's just a guy with short hair and glasses wearing a white lab coat. Kayaba Akihiko, the man who engineered our hell.


	9. Ghosts

**Disclaimer: I do not own Sword Art Online**

My name is Tanaka Niten, and I am eighteen years old now. I used to repeat this every day, just to remember the real world. But no more. It's been three years since I logged into this death game Sword Art Online and couldn't log back out. Three years I've been fighting digital monsters and strengthening myself, just to hold onto a hope built on nothing. Three years since Kayaba cruelly let us believe we could escape his grasp.

It was all for nothing. The man we had all followed blindly, who we believed was the strongest among us, was really our enemy. Like a wolf in sheep's clothing, he walked among us, pretending to be one of us, earning our trust, only to stab us in the back. It was all a lie. We never had a chance. We should've known that Kayaba Akihiko wouldn't let us escape. We are all trapped within this virtual hell, doomed to be the puppets of a madman playing God until our bodies in the real world wither away.

* * *

I've forgotten why I bothered to fight. In the face of all that has happened, what does it matter? We were all deceived. We never stood a chance, not against the one who put us all here. What hope do prisoners have against a jailer who is all-powerful, who can paralyze us with a glance, disguise himself as anyone, and control the very fabric of our virtual reality?

Today is my eighteenth birthday. November 6th, 2025. It is also the third anniversary of the day ten thousand people were sentenced to death. Happy fucking birthday, Naitama. That's all I am now. Tanaka Niten is dead. He died the moment he put on that Nerve Gear and logged into his brother's game. The Lone Archer is dead. He died when he trained fifty others in his signature ability.

A surge of resentment swells within me. Stupid Kichiro, always playing video games and never focusing on real life. It should've been him here, fighting in the front lines. Instead his punishment fell to his younger brother. Where's the justice in that?

And those archers. What good did any of it do, teaching them to use a bow and arrows to fight in a war instigated for Kayaba's sense of twisted fun? It didn't get us any closer to beating this death game. Not that we would've gotten that far to begin with.

Most of all, I'm angry at myself. Angry for allowing myself to hope, to believe that I could get out of this mess, to see my family again. Mom, Dad, Aiko, even Kichiro. I miss them.

I realize now that I've been running away from this moment. For three fucking years, I've thrown myself into the front lines, fighting constantly. I told myself it was to grow stronger, to beat this game, but really, I've just been trying to put off the realization of how much I lost. I came close when I nearly died fighting PoH, if that was really him and not a bot that Kayaba programmed, but now that I've hit rock bottom, it all comes crashing down.

My arm moves of its own volition, and a glass bottle shatters against the wall of the tiny apartment, prompting the message _Immortal Object_. It's sparsely furnished, my home, just a single room with a small bed and a desk. It's one of the default living quarters located in the Starting City that was given to every player at the start of the game. Other players moved out of theirs, purchasing better apartments or even houses on the upper floors, but I never saw the point. I rarely ever left the front lines, why bother spending money that could be used to buy better gear or crystals?

Speaking of which, I should really go shopping. The glass bottle I'd chucked against the wall had been my last sleeping potion. Sword Art Online doesn't have any alcohol, and even the strongest poisons on the market can't kill me, so I've resorted to sleeping as much as I can, by natural means or artificially. I pull myself off the floor, and stumble out the door and into the street. That's when the screaming reaches my ears.

Oh yeah, there are monsters in the cities now. After Kayaba revealed the unpleasant truth to us, he sent us home. After an hour of sulking in my room, I'd finally gone outside to find that the game's monsters spawned within the city limits now. And as if to rub salt in our wounds, the ghosts of dead players have begun haunting us. I don't know if those are real, but others seem to be able to see them, so I guess they are.

"Help!" A child's voice cries out. Looking over, I can see a tiny Player cornered by several snarling wolves. He must be one of the kids who snuck into the game despite the warning against players under thirteen.

I heave a deep sigh and equip my bow. Four arrows with dark green fletching fly straight and true, and the wolves shatter into pixels. "Hey, kid." I saunter over to the child. "Don't you know it's dangerous to be out in the streets?" I see that his health bar is half empty, so I snap my fingers, transferring Eternal Life's healing balm to him. "C'mon, I'll take you home. Where do you live?"

"I-i-in the c-church." The little boy stammers. I take a moment to orient myself, and set off toward the Monument of Life. To my annoyance, the little boy latches onto my hand.

"Mister, are you a Clearer?" The kid asks after several minutes of walking through deserted streets. "The way you defeated those monsters so easily- only a Clearer could be so strong."

Don't I wish. I open my mouth to deny it, to say that I am just an ordinary guy trapped in SAO like him, but the look on the boy's face stops me. He's staring at me with wide eyes, with an expression that I can only describe as absolute hope. "... Yeah... I'm... my name is Naitama. What's yours?"

"Tetsudoku."

I stifle a laugh. What a funny name. "Tetsudoku, eh? That's an... interesting name."

"Yeah, my older brother told me not to use my real name for a gaming ID, so I used my nickname. My friends called me Tetsudoku because I was so slow at sudoku." Tetsudoku smiles. "They'd say I was slower than a tortoise. But I'd always finish the puzzles when they couldn't."

"Perseverance, huh?" I pat the kid's head. "That's an important thing to have." I feel like such a liar saying that, when I've given up hope of ever beating SAO.

"Mister Naitama?" Tetsudoku asks suddenly. "Is it scary, being on the front lines fighting monsters?"

"Oh yeah." I reply. "Absolutely terrifying. But you get used to it after enough time."

"Wow!" Tetsudoku's eyes are sparkling. "I wish I could be strong enough to fight!"

I say nothing for the rest of the journey, while Tetsudoku rambles on about how cool Clearers are. I don't want to crush his hopes, to tell him that we're only human, that his heroes have given up the fight.

"Looks like we're here, Mister Naitama!" Tetsudoku points at the church. "Thank you for saving me! Good luck with clearing the game!" He waves and runs off to the door of the church.

* * *

"I'm sorry." I touch the letters engraved into the stone. A white line is crossed through Barton's name, marking him as dead. Despite this, he's standing right next to me, albeit glowing slightly. "I've failed you. All of you."

Barton's ghost smiles and pats my arm, as if to reassure me. I can't feel anything though, and keep talking. "I rescued a kid today. His name's Tetsudoku, if you can believe that."

"Dunno what he was doing outside on his own, but he was lucky I came out of my apartment when I did, otherwise he'd have been killed by a pack of wolves. I'll be honest with you, Barton. I wonder now why I saved Tetsudoku. The way things are, it might have been more merciful to let him die now than later when his body in real life expires."

Barton gives me a disappointed look, but says nothing. I'm starting to think that these ghosts can't talk. No one's bothered to try speaking with one, so who knows? Still, the glowing image of my friend looks so real, right down to the crease in his brow.

"Why am I still talking to you?" I wonder out loud. "I gotta say, Barton, this conversation is feeling really one-sided. Maybe I'll hop off the edge of the world and join you. Maybe then you could actually talk back to me."

Barton rolls his eyes as I turn away. " _Don't be a dumbass, Naitama. You're better than that."_

My heart skips a beat, and I whirl back around to find the ghost of my friend with a shit-eating grin plastered all over his face. "You can talk?!"

" _You done feeling sorry for yourself?"_ Barton smirks. " _You've still got a job to do."_

 _"_ I must be dreaming." My knees give out, and I sit down on the floor, stunned. "Is this even real?"

" _Real enough._ " Barton kneels down in front of me. " _Look, Naitama, I may be dead, but I'm still here. In fact, all the dead players are. We've always been here, you just haven't been able to see us until now._ "

"How?!" I demand. "What changed?"

" _I don't know._ " Barton admits. " _We deceased were standing alongside you when Heathcliff revealed his identity. It was as much a shock to us as it was to you. But when he teleported everyone out of the dungeon, we saw something in the split second of light. A girl with lavender hair and red eyes._ "

"Oookayyy..." I file away the information for later. Whoever this mysterious girl is, she can wait. "But wait, if the game's suddenly allowed the dead to speak to us-"

" _Then it might be fighting Kayaba_." Barton nods. " _Some of us have been_ _analyzing the differences between the current SAO and the version that was the beta test. There are very few features that changed, such as this room being turned into a memorial instead of the respawn point. Kayaba may be the administrator, but it could well be that the game itself is reacting against him. The beta test had very strict anti-cheat protocols._ "

"So then he's not all powerful?" My eyes narrow. "But why would the game fight against Kayaba? It makes no sense, he's the creator."

" _Who can say? If you ask me, it makes about as much sense as not being able to leave the game just because the logout button was removed._ " Barton shrugs. " _None of us have any experience as programmers, and even if we did, SAO is revolutionary, unlike anything else that came before it._ "

"Then we have a chance." I rise to my feet, heart pounding. "It might be slim, maybe nothing at all, but we owe it to ourselves to try." My thoughts turn to Tetsudoku, the child I had rescued, whose eyes had brimmed with hope and awe that there were heroes who sacrificed themselves to win the game. Heroes like me, like Barton. "No, not just ourselves, for everyone who is counting on us!" I shout. "I know what I need to do!"

* * *

"Urian!" I must look like an absolute madman, pounding on the door of the largest house on the street, but I don't care. "Urian, open this fucking door right now!"

I'm standing on the doorstep of the Searcher's Manor. It's one of the biggest houses in the game that can be purchased by a single player, essentially a mansion. Urian bought it not long after he got _Extra Sensory_ , using the Unique Skill to loot high-yield dungeons and amassing a ridiculous amount of wealth. One of the many reasons I dislike the man. He uses his special ability for selfish reasons.

"What do you want?!" The door flies open with a loud bang, revealing my least favorite Clearer. "Go home, Naitama. It's over. Enjoy what time you have left. Or go kill yourself. Just leave me be."

"Yeah, I tried." I grab a fistful of Urian's long golden hair and drag him out into the street. "Didn't work. No poison's strong enough to kill me, and jumping off the edge might just result in me falling endlessly, and that sounds boring."

"Ow! Stop that, you ruffian!" Urian squeals. "Okay, okay, I'll do whatever you want, just let go of my hair!"

I look at the cowering fool on the ground with disgust. "Help me find Kirito."

Urian stops sniffling for a second to look at me. "What?"

"You know, Kirito. Dresses in all black, uses two swords at once?"

"I know who Kirito is!" Urian snaps. "But why?"

"I don't like you, Urian." I snap. "And I'm well aware the feeling is mutual. You and I both know that there are many rivalries within the Clearers like ours."

"Please. As if I'd ever consider you to be my rival." Urian scoffs, then yelps when I whack him over the head.

"See, this is exactly what I'm talking about!" I yell. "I don't give a damn, but there are too many players like you who like to measure dicks like it's a fucking sausage festival."

"How dare-"

"Shut up!" I bellow. "There's only one player in this entire game who stands above everyone else, who only Kayaba himself could beat, and you're gonna take me to him!"

Urian's eyes widen in understanding. "You want Kirito to unite the Clearers again."

"Finally!" I throw my hands up in the air. "Now, where is he?!"

Urian's eyes begin glowing their familiar eerie gold. "The 22nd floor. Coral Village. Forest House K4."

* * *

 **A/N: Sorry about the incredibly long wait. It's been a long journey for Naitama and co. as well as myself. But the curtain will fall soon, and I will try my best to bring it about much sooner than later. I'd like to say I've learned from the experience of trying to write multiple stories at once, but clearly I have not, judging by the fact that I am still juggling four projects at once.**

 **Kudos if you know who or what the mysterious girl with lavender hair is. Is she a player? An NPC? Something else entirely? More importantly, what did she do? And how come there are so many ghosts, which the players can only see now? All very important questions.**


	10. Hope

**Disclaimer: I do not own Sword Art Online**

My name is Tanaka Niten, and I am eighteen years old now. I used to repeat this every day, just to remember the real world. But no more. It's been three years since I logged into this death game Sword Art Online and couldn't log back out. Three years I've been fighting digital monsters and strengthening myself, just to hold onto a hope built on nothing. Three years since Kayaba cruelly let us believe we could escape his grasp.

It was all for nothing. The man we had all followed blindly, who we believed was the strongest among us, was really our enemy. Like a wolf in sheep's clothing, he walked among us, pretending to be one of us, earning our trust, only to stab us in the back. It was all a lie. We never had a chance. We should've known that Kayaba Akihiko wouldn't let us escape. We are all trapped within this virtual hell, doomed to be the puppets of a madman playing God until our bodies in the real world wither away.

* * *

"This is it." Urian points at Forest House K4. "Can I go home now?"

Kirito's home is a picturesque log cabin just outside of Coral Village. It took twenty minutes of walking from the Teleport Gate just to arrive here, which makes me wonder why the Black Swordsman would choose to live here. From what I know of Kirito, he's a man of action, hardly the type to live in a remote location that would keep him far from the front lines.

"Not yet." I reply. "None of us are going home until we finish the game." Stepping onto the porch, I knock on the door, much more calmly than I did with Urian's. Moments later, the door opens slightly, revealing a young girl who looked to be about eight to ten years old.

Immediately, I round on Urian. "You said this is where Kirito is!"

"This is!" Urian shouts. "I don't know who this kid is, but this is where the Black Swordsman lives!"

"Excuse me!" The little girl shouts, opening the door fully and waving her arms frantically to get our attention. "Are you looking for Papa?"

"Papa?" Urian sneers. "Some fool decided to play the game with his young daughter?"

"Shut up, Urian." I punch the blonde fop and bend down until I'm eye-to-eye with the little girl. "I'm looking for a player by the name of Kirito. I was told he lives here. He's about my height, with black hair and clothes."

"Yup! That's my papa!" The girl nods happily.

Privately, I wonder why Kirito would ever adopt an NPC. There's no indicator over the girl's head, so that's the only explanation I have. "That's wonderful. Can you tell me where he is?"

"Right there." Yui points to behind me and Urian. I turn around to see Kirito standing just outside the porch, swords drawn and blazing with light.

"Get. Away. From. My. Daughter." There is fury etched into every line on the Black Swordsman's face. Urian takes a step away from me and immediately begins stammering something about how this was all my idea. Ignoring him, I step off the porch and approach Kirito.

"Put the swords away, Kirito. You know you can't kill me, and I'd rather not fight you in front of your daughter." I raise my hands in a gesture of peace.

Kirito's eyes narrow, but the opalescent fire fades from his swords. "What do you want?"

"I need to talk to you."

"Then talk."

"In private."

"We're about as private as it gets, Naitama." Kirito says dryly. "Unless you've brought more friends."

"Urian's not my friend." I snort. "But that's kind of the point. Look, did you know that the ghosts can speak to us now?"

"Yes." Kirito finally sheathes his swords. "I take it you too spoke with a friend who died?"

"Barton." I nod. "He and the other ghosts believe that the game itself is fighting Kayaba."

"That makes no sense." Kirito frowns. "He created the game, he should have absolute control over it."

"Yes, and apparently, the game systems consider that to be cheating. You were a beta tester, you know how tough SAO's anti-cheats are."

"Heh. That they are." Kirito smiles ruefully. "But your point?"

"If even the game is reacting against Kayaba, then maybe we do have a chance. It could well be that all is not lost, that Kayaba is not all-powerful. But we can't beat the game if we don't fight. We need to rally the Clearers, the other Unique Skill Users, and anyone else who can and will fight."

"So why not do it yourself?" Kirito cocks his head to the side. "Many of the players would listen to you. Your archery instruction was what allowed us to escape from Granzam during the Player War."

"Some, but not all." I point at Urian, who's been standing by awkwardly all this time. "Outside of the Clearers, I'm not exactly the most popular player. There's a reason they called me the Lone Archer. I don't have the pull with enough people to get them moving again. But you do. You're the most respected player in the game. Everyone knows who the Black Swordsman is."

"He has a point." Urian joins us now. "You fought a duel with Heathcliff himself and almost won. You have been central to the progression of the front lines. Many players owe you their lives, including myself. We would be honored to follow you as our leader."

"No." Kirito's face is shrouded in shadow, and he looks down at the ground. "I cannot be the leader. I know you mean well, but we have lost. Even if the game fights Kayaba alongside us, he still has too much power. I've made my peace with my failings. All I have left now is Asuna, and Yui. And what little time I have left, I'm going to spend it with my family."

Silence fills the air. Urian looks absolutely crushed, and for once, I empathize with him. Our last, best chance at ending this horror, has refused to help us. It feels like... like Heathcliff's betrayal all over again.

There's a roaring sound in my ears, and my heart is pounding. My vision blurs with tears, and rage wells up within me, filling me. "How can you say that, Kirito. Lie down and give up. Die. Is that what your ghosts told you?"

I shake Kirito, realizing suddenly that I've grabbed him by the front of his coat. "Is that what your ghosts told you?! That it's okay to just give up now, so close to the end, just because Heathcliff turned out to be Kayaba?! No! That madman was playing us from the start, but that never stopped us before! Do you know what we are?!

"We are not just Unique Skill Users. We are not just Clearers. We are heroes. DO YOU HEAR ME, KIRITO?! WE ARE HEROES TO THE KIDS AND THE ELDERS WHO CANNOT FIGHT! WE, WHO LAY DOWN OUR LIVES, GIVING OUR ALL SO THAT WE MAY BEAT THIS HORROR OF A GAME! WE. ARE. HEROES. AND HEROES DO NOT LAY DOWN AND DIE! HEROES DO NOT REFUSE THEIR DUTY BECAUSE THE ENEMY IS TOO STRONG! THAT IS OUR DUTY, KIRITO! TO END THIS MADNESS ONCE AND FOR ALL, BECAUSE WE ARE NOT JUST HEROES, WE ARE THE SURVIVORS! WE ARE THE LAST HOPE!"

I let go of Kirito, breathing hard. Urian is looking at me with wide eyes. I swipe at my eyes angrily and turn away. "Damn you, Kirito. Even if you won't fight, I will. I'll take on the remaining five floors myself. I can't die. I don't know how long it will take, but I'm going to beat this game. I'm going to fight until I win, or until my body in the real world rots away."

As I begin to walk away however, something pulls on my jacket. "Mister, wait!" I turn to find Yui holding onto my jacket, preventing me from leaving.

"Yui." Kirito sighs. "Don't bother Naitama anymore. Just let him go."

"No! You should listen to him, Papa." Yui plants her hands on her hips and looks the most formidable warrior in the game straight in the eye. "He's right, you know. You can't give up now. Don't you remember what you and Mama always said? That after you beat SAO, you'd find each other, get married, then find me? That we'd be one happy family in the real world?"

* * *

 _My name is Kazuto Kirigaya. Most of you know me as Kirito, the Black Swordsman. I have an urgent message for all of you. For the past three years, I've been fighting in the front lines to beat the game. But that all stopped when_ _Kayaba deceived us. He has made us feel small, weak, and fearful. He has reveled in his power and strength over us. But he has forgotten that he is not all-powerful. He invited us to war against him, and that will be his undoing._ _This is more than just a battle between the players and Kayaba. It's a war for our freedom. It will decide what kind of future we will have. Will we live within a lie, waiting to die? Or will we fight, fight for what is right?_

 _So please. Join me. Put your all into this, our last chance. Believe in yourselves again. It won't be easy. It never was. We will stumble. We will fall. But every time, we will get back up. We will not surrender. We will not accept defeat. Everything we have suffered, all that we have endured, was caused by one man. A man who plays God and calls himself the devil. Against such an evil, there is only one thing we can do. We will not run. We will not hide. WE WILL STAND. WE WILL FIGHT. WE WILL TAKE BACK WHAT IS OURS._


	11. The Final Battle

**Disclaimer: I do not own Sword Art Online**

My name is Tanaka Niten, and I am eighteen years old now. I used to repeat this every day, just to remember the real world. But no more. It's been three years since I logged into this death game Sword Art Online and couldn't log back out. Three years I've been fighting digital monsters and strengthening myself, just to hold onto a hope built on nothing. Three years since Kayaba cruelly let us believe we could escape his grasp.

We have nothing left to lose. We've been deceived and betrayed by the one we put our trust in. But his lies will not break us. It doesn't matter that Kayaba Akihiko controls the game. It doesn't matter that he has the powers of a god. He's just a man. We are not his puppets. We're going to take back our lives, and escape from this death game.

* * *

The Ruler of Deities shrieks as it crumbles into pixels. Floor 99 has been cleared.

The power of human will is truly inspiring. After Kirito broadcast his call to action, every last able-bodied fighter in Aincrad answered. Former members of rival guilds put aside their differences and prior allegiances to unite under the Black Swordsman, forming a single giant guild called the Aincrad Liberation Organization, or ALO for short. Together, we conquered the last four floors within the space of a single month. It seems like a dream now, looking back.

Of course, the price was high. There were casualties. Thinker and Yulier. Killed in the fight against the Slaughter Fang on Floor 96. Agil. Died from fall damage when the Kaiser Dragon dropped him over two hundred feet on Floor 98. A hundred other players I only know by name, like Kainz, Wallis, and Stark. Fallen at various points during our mad rush to the finish. Silica. Killed by the boss we just killed, right as I was about to transfer my healing ability to her. Lately, there's been too many people I haven't been able to save.

"This is it." Kirito points to the door, which just appeared at the death of Floor 99's boss. "One more floor. One last fight, and we can go home."

"What're we waiting for?" I shout. "Let's get this over with!"

The Aincrad Liberation Organization roars its approval, and we surge forward like a tidal wave, nearly trampling Kirito. As the crowd of players approaches, the door to Floor 100 creaks open automatically. But as soon as I step past the threshold into a dark hallway however, cries of dismay and shock reach my ears. I whirl around in a panic, but no one is being attacked or turned into pixels. Instead, there is a transparent red field filling the doorway. None of the other players can get past it, it seems.

"What's going on?" Kirito asks. Somehow, he's made it through the barrier.

"I don't know." I shake my head. "Maybe it only allows two players in or something."

"That can't be it, we're here too." Khai replies as he and Rogers manage to push their way through the crowd and past the red barrier.

"Welcome!" A familiar voice hisses from behind us, and the four of us turn, drawing our weapons. Standing before us is the red-cloaked figure that has appeared to us twice before, though it is the size of a normal player now. Kirito leaps forward with a shout, and his swords slash through Kayaba's avatar, which only fizzles, revealing it to be a hologram.

Sure enough, the pre-recorded message continues on as though nothing had happened. "Congratulations upon making it this far. But this is the final test. Normally, the Ruby Palace would have been open to all who wished to challenge the King of Aincrad. However, to prove yourselves worthy of leaving, only the strongest among you, those who have surpassed all others to achieve greatness, shall be allowed to enter. Now, come. Defeat me, and win your freedom!" With that, the figure vanishes.

Silence fills the air. We all know what Kayaba means. The strongest among the players, those who have surpassed all others. That can only mean the Unique Skill Users. The red barrier has kept out everyone else but the ones who hold the Dual Wield, Unbreaking Shield, Darkness Blade, and Eternal Life. No doubt, the others will join us soon enough.

"So this is our last chance." Rogers frowns. "If we don't beat Heathcliff, no one else will be able to even try."

Kirito walks up to the red barrier, putting his hand to it. "It's not letting me through. Where we're going, it's a one-way trip."

"A one-way trip out of here, I hope." Alina remarks, as she, Jaina, and Kotona walk through the barrier.

"We'll either win this or die trying." Urian follows closely behind the girls. "Well, that makes eight. Which means we're just waiting on-"

"Wait for me!" Klein shouts, stumbling through the red field. "You didn't think I'd let you leave without me, did ya?"

"Course not, Klein." Kirito smiles. "We need every last person we can get."

"Kirito!" Asuna shouts from beyond the border. "Kirito, wait!"

"Asuna!" Kirito runs back to the barrier. "Asuna, I... Go home. Wait with Yui. If-when we beat the game, make sure she logs out."

"I will." Asuna nods, then presses her hand to the barrier. "I love you, Kirito."

"I love you too, Asuna." Kirito places his hand to hers, the two of them separated by the transparent red field. I turn away, slightly embarrassed to watch the tender moment. The others standing by look equally uncomfortable. None of us comment on Kirito's slip. If. Despite our power, it's not a certainty that we can beat Kayaba, no matter what the Black Swordsman says.

After a long moment, Kirito clears his throat and says gruffly. "Come on. We've got a game to beat."

Together, the nine of us stride down the dark hallway before us, the cheers of our fellow players behind us ringing in our ears.

* * *

"This seems almost too easy." Kotona mumbles. "There's no enemies at all? Urian, are you sure we're going the right way?"

"Don't jinx it, Kotona." Jaina replies. "If we get swarmed by mobs, I'll kill them first, then you."

"There's only one enemy we need to worry about." Rogers cuts in. "Nothing else matters."

"Quiet!" Urian hisses. "I'm trying to navigate to the throne room, and none of you are helping with your chatter."

"Relax, Urian." I grin. "We're about to enter into the fight of our lives, with thousands of players counting on us to win so that they can leave the virtual reality they've been trapped in for three years. No biggie."

Everyone gives me a sour look at that. I guess it wasn't as funny as I thought.

"This is it." Alina holds out her arm, stopping us from walking through a doorway into the next room.

"How do you know?" Khai looks confused. "Urian's the one with the map."

"There's a big fucking chair in the middle of the room, you dummy." Alina rolls her eyes. "I'd say it's a dead giveaway."

"But where's Kayaba?" Kirito wonders out loud. "I don't see him anywhere."

"He's supposed to be in the center of the throne room." Urian frowns. "Right where that throne is, actually."

"Maybe he'll appear if we come closer." Klein suggests.

"Maybe." Kirito draws his swords. "Everyone, be on the lookout. We're going in."

The nine of us cautiously tiptoe into the throne room. It's a massive hall, with a black and white marble floor and red stone pillars stretching way up into darkness. The ceiling is so high that we can't see it. And right in the center of the room is a throne made from pure ruby. Slowly, we approach the throne, but nothing happens.

"I don't understand." Urian looks frustrated. "We should be right on top of him."

At those words, my blood seems to freeze in my brains. Out of the corner of my eye, I see the same horror fill Kirito's expression. But before either of us can do anything, a scarlet flash pierces Urian, slashing him from shoulder to hip. Before I can use Eternal Life, the holder of the Unique Skill Extrasensory dies in a scatter of light.

"Move!" Rogers roars, pushing Alina out of the way, taking the next hit on his round shield.

Heathcliff laughs, a deep rumbling laugh that seems to shake the floor beneath us. "Welcome! To your demise!" He only has one health bar, unlike any other boss we've ever faced, but I have a feeling it won't be easy.

"HYAAARRGGHHH!" Kirito screams as he lunges at Heathcliff, both swords blazing green and blue. Elucidator and Dark Repulser blur into a complex attack sequence, but astonishingly, Heathcliff blocks every last strike with ease before ramming Kirito with his shield. Thankfully, I've already transferred Eternal Life to him.

"Star stream Burst? You'll have to do better than that, Kirito." Heathcliff smirks. "I know every last programmed move combo in the game."

There is a loud roar of thunder, and my hair stands on end. Jaina has just unleashed her Infinite Spear against Heathcliff. The red-armored player grimaces, a quarter of his health bar having been emptied. "That was a mistake, Jaina."

In the blink of an eye, Heathcliff has crossed the length of the throne room to stab Jaina through the heart. Another Unique Skill User bursts into pixels. There are only seven left now.

"Hah!" Klein shouts in triumph as the familiar white wave of light slashes through the air from his Battoujutsu. Heathcliff braces himself behind his shield, but his health again drops, now at half of its full capacity.

Alina jumps into the fray now, striking at Heathcliff with fists and feet. Heathcliff tries to back up, to get out of her reach, but Alina follows, making sure to stay too close for Heathcliff to use either his sword and shield.

"Switch!" Kotona shouts, just as Alina begins to slow. As the martial arts master jumps back, Kotona throws a quick succession of shuriken at Heathcliff. To my shock, they all fly past him, not a single one even impacting his raised shield. But this was Kotona's plan. Completely breaking the laws of physics, the shuriken arc back around to embed themselves in Heathcliff's back.

Heathcliff growls, and runs forward, but is met by Rogers's Unbreaking Shield. The two men push, neither giving ground, until Heathcliff realizes that Kirito is closing in.

In a surprising move, Heathcliff throws his sword. Unprepared, Kirito takes it right in the throat, shattering into pixels. Our leader has died.

"NO!" Klein screams. Desperately, he opens his menu. I don't know what he's doing, but I fire three arrows in as many seconds. Kirito may be dead, but we can still win this fight.

Heathcliff catches all my arrows on his shield, and draws a new weapon. Unlike his other sword, this one is single-edged, a falchion. He slashes at Rogers, who only survives thanks to my Unique Skill.

Alina jumps forward again, but the different reach of Heathcliff's new weapon takes her by surprise, and she is knocked aside. I move to transfer Eternal Life to Alina, but I know it won't be fast enough. Heathcliff's falchion begins its downward descent toward Alina's head, but it is suddenly stopped by two swords, one black and the other greenish-blue.

Kirito raises his foot to Heathcliff's chest and pushes, knocking him down. I stare in astonishment at the Black Swordsman, returned from the dead. How? I look over to Klein, just in time to see a curious round orb disappear from his hand.

"What-" I stammer, but am interrupted by Khai's shout.

"Naitama! Now!" Suddenly, a black cloud enshrouds Heathcliff. In the space of two heartbeats, I've drawn, aimed, and fired my last Death Rain arrow. Hundreds of wooden shards rain into the dark mist, and when it clears, Heathcliff is down to a fraction of his health.

"Kirito!" I scream. "Switch!" I transfer the overpowered regeneration of Eternal Life to Kirito, who jumps forward at Heathcliff.

"ANNIHILATION TEMPEST!" Kirito roars as his two swords flash in a pattern. Unlike his normal combos, the sword movements for this one are jerky, as though he is actively trying to avoid completing a swing. I realize with a start that this is not a move combo that has been programmed into the game. Kirito made his own, so that Heathcliff couldn't anticipate his moves and counter them.

As I watch, Heathcliff's health bar drains slowly, from orange, to red, and then to completely empty, just as Kirito jumps back, shouting "Switch!"

I draw my bow, an Acheron arrow ready to paralyze Heathcliff, but our opponent drops to a knee, defeated.

"Well done." Heathcliff smiles, clapping slowly. "You have defeated me. You are free to go."

"Not so fast." Kirito's eyes narrow. "Why? Why trap us all in this game? For what purpose? So you could play God?"

Heathcliff shakes his head, the smile on his face growing wider. "No, although that did have its perks. I became the face of evil because I wanted to see how the players would react. Would they turn on one another? Would they unite for a greater cause? What would mankind do?"

"You wanted to test us." I realize. "Was it worth it? All those deaths? You becoming a villain?"

Heathcliff shrugs. "You tell me. But I advise you to log out soon. Now that the game has been beaten-" He's cut off by a loud rumble as the ground begins to shake. "-Aincrad will soon be no more." And with that, Kayaba Akihiko vanishes.

My hands are trembling, I just realized. After three years. Three long years, I can finally go home. I can finally leave this hell. I swipe down with my right hand, opening the menu. Pressing the buttons that hover in the air in front of me, I navigate to the option that has been left empty for so long. Sure enough, it is now filled with a single word:

 _Logout_

I look at the other six players around me and nod. "I'll see you all on the other side." I press the button, and everything goes black.


	12. Epilogue & Author's Note

It's been five months since I logged off Sword Art Online. When I first woke up after that last fight, I could barely move. Three years of lying motionless in a bed will do that to you. Muscle atrophy really sucks. Fortunately, physical therapy got me back on my feet after a few months, though it did take me a while to get used to a slightly taller body. While I was in SAO, my body in real life grew about three inches, bringing me to the same height as my brother.

Speaking of Kichiro, and the rest of my family, they were incredibly happy to see me, as well as proud of what I'd done. After the world realized that every player in SAO was trapped, Kichiro felt so guilty that he turned all his energy into finding a way to get me out of SAO without killing me. Obviously, this proved to be impossible. Kayaba Akihiko had uploaded his consciousness into the SAO server, as a sentient computer virus.

However, my older brother and others like him devised a way to observe the world of Aincrad from outside. This proved to be the key to our survival. Seven months into the SAO Incident, as it came to be known, the government very nearly decided to pull the plug on life support for those who had been trapped in the game. However, Kichiro and the others who opened up a window into SAO revealed that we were fighting to get through the game, that we were doing our best on our side to end the nightmare. The government had no choice then but to keep the players on life support. So in a way, my brother saved my life.

He and I are actually headed to the reunion party now. Yeah, after all that happened, we're finally going to celebrate. All the Clearers, as well as the guys who made it possible for the outside world to watch us, have been invited to the Dicey Cafe, owned by Andrew Gilbert Mills, who you might know as Agil.

Oh yeah, Agil's alive. Every player who died during the game is still alive. Turns out Kayaba lied to us when he told us that we'd die in real life if we died in-game. What actually happened was that you became a ghost, unable to interact with the living players for the most part, but still in the game. And when we beat SAO, they were able to log off as well. Only twenty-six people died as a result of the SAO incident, when their Nerve Gear was forcibly removed. Twenty-seven if you count Kayaba Akihiko himself, since he fried his own brain when he uploaded his consciousness into the SAO servers. Though, he's probably still around somewhere online, so I don't consider him to be dead.

"Looks like this is the place." Kichiro interrupts my brooding. I look up to see a plain wooden exterior, with a pale red wood door set into it. It doesn't look very impressive, I have to say. Kichiro pushes the door open, and I follow him in.

"NAITAMA!" As soon as I walk in, I'm met with a huge cheer. Around thirty people are crammed into the tiny cafe. Most of them I recognize as Clearers, though there's a small group in the corner that my brother and Khai are with that I don't recognize. They must be the people Kichiro worked with.

"You're late, man!" A tall man with brown hair wearing a red bandana on his forehead grabs me in a headlock. "We've been waiting for ages!"

"Let him go, Klein." An even taller man with dark skin calls from the bar. Whether in the SAO or the real world, Agil is still the tallest guy around. "He's only five minutes late, and we're still waiting on Kirito and a few others."

"Kirito?" I look around to see that my friend is indeed missing. "That's odd, he left school before I did." Kirito, or rather Kazuto, and I both attend the SAO Survivor school, a specialized school in Tokyo for players who were underage when the game started and need to catch up on their education.

"He had to go pick up Asuna." Silica pipes up. She's also a student at the SAO Survivor School, though I haven't interacted with her much.

As if on cue, the door swings open, and Kirito walks in, supporting Asuna. She still can't walk very well, having only come out of her FullDive about a month ago, but once she finishes physical therapy, she'll join the rest of us at school. "Sorry I'm late!" Kirito smiles.

"Great, you're here!" Klein raises his drink over his head. "Let's get this party started!"

Before long, the room is filled with loud chatter, and I find myself at the bar. "One bourbon, please." Agil hands me a cup of oolong tea instead.

"You might be a hero, and part of the reason we're all here today." Agil rumbles. "But you're still underage."

"One bourbon please." Klein leans on the bar beside me. Much to my disappointment, Agil gives him what he ordered. "I'm not going to work overtime without alcohol."

"That can't be healthy." Silica remarks.

"Well, what do you know about alcohol?" Klein smiles, sipping his bourbon.

"Not much." Silica admits.

"Say, Silica, what's your real name?" I ask. I can't go on calling her by her in game name forever.

"Ayano Keiko." She orders a soda from Agil, before turning to me. "My family has a tradition of naming children after elements, that's why I chose Silica as my gamer ID. I'm named for the element silicon."

"Nice." I comment. It's an interesting tidbit, not that I really wanted to know.

"What about you? Why go with Naitama?"

"Well, my real name's Tanaka Niten, and there was this show I watched a lot as a kid, One Punch Man. The main character's name was Saitama, so I just based my name off his." I shrug.

"Oh, I used to love that show!" Keiko exclaims. "I always wanted to be like that psychic, Tatsumaki!"

Keiko and I begin chattering happily about old anime that we watched as children. Around us, players who fought alongside one another in virtual reality greet each other in the real world, often exclaiming with shock how different they look. I even spot Urian, who does have long golden hair. He and I nod to one another, and leave it at that.

My name is Tanaka Niten, and I am eighteen years old. I don't need to remind myself every day anymore though. I'm back in the real world. I'll never forget the three years I spent in Sword Art Online, or the people I met during that time. How could I? It's gonna stay with me for the rest of my life.

* * *

 **A/N: What a journey it has been. SAO Eternal was not the first fanfiction I ever wrote, but it was one of the first that I started. It's been over a year, and a lot has happened since I first came up with the idea of what if Kirito never realized the truth about Heathcliff on the 75th floor? What if the players were forced to keep on going, playing the game the way Kayaba intended them to? What were the other Unique Skills besides Dual Wield and Holy Sword?**

 **At first, I did toy with the idea of telling this story from the perspective of an existing player, such as Kirito, or perhaps Klein. But ultimately, I decided on an original character instead, and that ended up changing a lot of the story, as well as SAO lore. After all, there aren't supposed to be ranged weapons in SAO besides throwing knives, yet I made the main character use a bow and arrows as his primary weapon. And Yui is still around! What was up with that?**

 **Since SAO Eternal was told from the POV of Naitama, he's not gonna know about everything Kirito does. Long story short, Kirito, Asuna, and Yui managed to escape the Fatal Scythe boss by teleporting out of the dungeon. Consequently, Kirito never learns that it is possible for an in-game character avatar to be an Immortal Object, and doesn't manage to put two and two together regarding Heathcliff, setting in motion the events of SAO Eternal and leading to the discovery of Unique Skills.**

 **The Unique Skills are something I'm particularly proud of. Some, like Battoujutsu, Infinite Spear, Shurikenjutsu, and Darkness Blade were actually conceptualized by Reki** **Kawahara, though I did change the requirements for players to obtain said skills. I believe Battoujutsu and Shurikenjutsu were originally supposed to be given upon the completion of the katana and shuriken skills, respectively. Darkness Blade was supposed to be given to the player with the most PKs, but that would have been problematic, wouldn't it? The other Unique Skills, like Unbreaking Shield, Extrasensory, Blazing Fists, and Eternal Life were my own creations.**

 **There may be occasional updates to this story after this epilogue, probably detailing how background characters like Alina, Kotona, Jaina, and Urian obtained their Unique Skills, as well as fleshing out their characters a bit more. I don't have a sequel planned, though it's not impossible Naitama picked up ALO...**


End file.
